Quarter Mile (Milestone)
by Raggedydollz
Summary: Stories of Dom and Letty throughout their relationship- filling in unanswered questions of how they got together, what happened after lopac, and the events leading up to the first fast and furious and after. Rated M for language/risque situations.
1. 1st Quarter Mile: Fast Lane

**Quarter Mile (milestones). Stories of Dom and Letty throughout their relationship- filling in unanswered questions of how they got together, what happened after Lopac, and the events leading up to the first fast and furious and after. They can be read as one-shots, or a continuing piece all together. Rated M for language and eventual...situations.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything...nothing...**

1st Quarter Mile, Chapter 1: _Fast Lane_

Doing a brief check in the mirror, Letty Ortiz shrugged and situated her beanie, so all her hair was tucked in. Baggy pants, boxer shorts, a sports bra and white wife beater were good enough for her.

She wasn't going to be a spectator on the sidelines tonight. She was racing. Her car was finally finished after doing her brother's chores for three months in exchange for his helping her trick out her Shelby cobra.

Being 15 was real drag. She wasn't legally allowed to have a car till next year, so if she got caught driving, that was her ass-not to mention racing.

Her older brother, Julian Ortiz, was 19 and worked in the Toretto Car garage part time, and their father had been a racetrack mechanic before he died. Needless to say-she loved cars and anything to do with them.

But lately, she'd grown impatient of watching these half-wit joders, granny shift into last place against the up and coming street king, Dominic Toretto.

Julian was a legend on the streets. He'd been street racing for as long as she could remember, all over California- his '74 Plymouth cuda, named '_Storm,_' was a beast. When they'd moved here last year, he'd immediately made a name for himself.

But this year, after his decision to enlist in the Army, on his final race he subsequently lost to 17 year old up and coming Toretto, in turn reigning the Street King title over to him, and hadn't looked back since.

And that pissed her off. Everyone thought Dom was hot shit after he beat her brother. Hell, his ego inflated like a hot air balloon the more winnings he got under his belt. Dudes praised him like a God, and skanks fell over him like crazy.

In truth, she was no exception. Death would take her before she admitted it, but there was something about Dominic Toretto that fascinated her, ever since she'd first seen him race her brother for the title.

He was cocky, brash, and a smart ass to be sure. But she could see past all that bullshit. She knew he was someone she could see herself….

Woah. _Focus Leticia._ She thought to herself. Tonight was about winning and nothing more. It was going to be hard enough to be taken seriously because she was a girl. She didn't need to be sidetracked, by her Puerto Rican crush.

More than she wanted Dom, she wanted that title. That title that came with money, kick ass cars, and more importantly-respect. Even her brother still looked to her as a kid, and not serious competition. But tonight, their arrogance would be their downfall.

Grabbing her keys, she headed out the door. Determined to make a name for herself, while crawling from underneath her brother's shadow.

* * *

Dom stood by his red Mazda rx7, laughing it up with his boys. The races were lining up, and more than a few girls had shown up to wish him luck, in racer chaser fashion-a kiss for now, with the promise of a fuck later.

His friend Hector signaled from a distance that the races were about to start. Vince, his best friend since third grade, came up to him, giving him a brotherly hug.

"Finish strong brother. I got money on you tonight." Vince told him. It was senior prom in two weeks, and he'd be damn if he didn't take one of the Cullen sisters out for a night on the town.

"No doubt." Dom agreed. As all the racers came to the finish line, he noticed a new face in the crowd.

Hector was laughing it up, along with the rest of the guys at the new comer. As he made his way over, what he saw made him smirk.

"Toretto, you gotta hear this!" hector chuckled, waving him closer.

Dom came in the close circle of guys who'd circled her like a hawk. The lions den. Most guys were smart enough not to race against him when money was on the line. The new kid must be dumb as hell.

There to his right was a skinny tomboy, with grunge wrist bands and boy street clothes. Her breasts weren't impressive and neither was her body. At seeing the stranger's face, it gave him pause.

The girl was clearly rough on the edges with a chip on her shoulder and something to prove. He sized her up, looking into her eyes last. Her eyes are what haunted him. They like windows to another world-dark, smoldering.

"I want in." She said boldly, wasting no time with her demands.

Dom lifted a brow. "Do you now?"

She rolled eyes, taking out a wad of cash. "2 G buy in right?" she said, tossing the wad to Hector, who fumbled a bit with it, clearly surprised. No one said she was in!

One of the racers, named Zoom chuckled boldly. "This broad has lost it man! You think just because you come here with baggy pants and money, that you can race?"

The other racer, Sky looked her up and down. "You got some balls for a chick, I'll give you that- but you're out of your league. Go home kid."

"Why don't you put your money where your pussy is?" She snapped at them both, growing tired of their insults.

Dom lifted the corner of his mouth. So the girl was fearless. She also had heart, which she would definitely need when he smoked her.

"What'd you say bitch?!" Sky raised his voice, anger radiating. He took a step forward, but Dom stopped him with a look.

"Watch your mouth." He warned, causing retreat his advances. Yeah, the girl needed to learn her place, but he wouldn't tolerate her or any woman being disrespected in his presence.

Turning his focus back to her, "That yours?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the decked out yellow Shelby cobra.

Letty eyed him a moment before giving a small nod of confirmation. "Yeah, why?"

"Show me how you drive your car," Dom remarked, as he circled her vehicle, admiring it with a gentle sweep of his fingertips. "And I'll show you, who you are." He finished, and winked at the hotties as he passed, causing them to giggle.

"Alright braveheart, you're in-on one condition." Dom said, as he made his way back around her.

She took a defensive stance, ready to kick ass if he alluded to anything vulgar. "Yeah, what's that?" she asked, raising her eyebrow.

"Keep your money. I'll race you for your car." He finished, hearing surprised gasps and whispers amongst the crowd.

The girl's face had fallen a bit in defeat, and he smirked. _Yeah, you're out of your league kid. _ He thought. For some reason, he liked her, and didn't want her to be humiliated on her first race.

After eyeing her a moment, he chuckled and walked to his car, giving the signal for the other racers to do the same.

"I'm in." she called out, making Dom pause mid stride.

"What was that?" He asked, walking back to her. She leered crossing her arms. "It's going to be such an honor to have the car of Dominic Toretto as my fucking trophy."

"You got a lot of balls stepping to me." Dom shot back, a bit heatedly. Why couldn't she see he was trying to give her an out?!

"No need in flattering me, now." She spat back. Taking out her pink slip, she held it between two fingers. "Ride or die." She challenged.

Dom nodded, as hector came up and took the pink slip from her, handing her back her 2 grand. Sky and Zoom went to their cars, but Dom shook his head. "This one's on me, fellas." He called out.

Sky and Zoom smiled understanding as they removed their cars from the race.

The kid went to her car and pulled up to the starting line, revving her engine, allowing it to purr as Dom roared his.

One of his racer chicks, Candy came between the car with her revealing glitter halter top and go-go shorts, and red heels.

He saw her roll her eyes out his peripheral view. Smiling to himself, he mumbled, "Maybe in a few years, kid."

Candy gave the signal and as her hands touched down, he sped off like a rocket, the kid not too far behind.

They raced through the streets, defying all traffic regulations and odds. Dom laughed as he gained a clear lead over her, two cars ahead, and already planning a new color for his car.

The finish line was close, but not close enough. The girl had somehow shifted through the obstacles and was at his side once again. Defying death, Dom raced on the wrong side of the road, causing her to be a bit worried.

They crossed onto the connecting bridge, the kid trying to focus, while Dom just relaxed. At the end of the bridge was the finish line.

"Don't box with Ali, kid." He muttered to himself, as he weaved in and out of oncoming cars. When a truck briefly obstructed his view, he cursed as she took the lead.

"Shit." He cursed. He would NOT lose to this broad. He couldn't. Turning on his NOS, he sped up with determination. But the oncoming Mack truck had been too close for him to move quick enough.

He swerved to the right, the traction in his wheels losing its grip as the NOS still raced his car beyond odds.

Dom tried to steady of the wheel, but is side rammed by an opposing car. "SHIT" he screamed, his car was letting out of control on a 100 feet bridge, over nothing but water and rock.

He put all his weight into the door, but it's jammed. "Shit." He cursed, panicking. The car astro-planed closer to the edge of the bridge, and Dom could see his end nearing.

An oncoming car accidentally shoved his vehicle, causing it to spin out of control. Out of the wreckage the yellow cobra appeared forming a blockage between him and death.

They smashed hard into each other, before Dom's car halted to a stop, the yellow cobra flipped three times, landing on its hood. It looked like shit after being smashed between his car and a guardrail.

The finish line was less than 10 feet away. Racers came running, after witnessing the new kid practically save Dom's life.

Dom climbed out through his window and ran to her car. She was struggling to crawl out, her beanie forgotten as her hair tumbled out over her shoulders.

"Fuck!" She heaved as she coughed up smoke. Her right hand tried to find safe ground to balance herself.

Rushing to her side, prying open her driver door. "Shit." He swore out aloud, as seeing a huge chunk of glass deeply embedded in her left wrist, her shoulder dislocated.

The girl coughed some more, as Dom pulled her small frame out of the car, careful of her left side. "I got you." He assured her as he bared most of her weight.

Vince was the first to reach him, informing him that the medics were on their way. "I don't know who she is, but from what I saw, looked like she saved your ass brother."

Dom gave a slight nod of acknowledgement. Whoever she was, she'd earned his respect, and his loyalty.

The girl eyed them both for a moment before her eyes began to roll to the back of her head. "Whoa, no, no, no." He tapped her face. "Hey, come on, stay with me ."

The girl opened her eyes briefly, giving a small smile. "I almost had your sorry ass." She whispered.

"Almost." He admitted with a small grin. "You upshifted too early, though."

"I…I was hoping your crazy ass would break." She gasped, a bit, the pain making her wince. Dom whipped some tendrils of hair from her face. "You've got heart, kid. I owe you one."

"Does that mean….I can keep my car?" she hacked. Dom smirked. "Yeah, you can keep your car."

The paramedics sirens could be heard in the distance. She closed her eyes again, and Dom shook her a bit. "Not yet, you might have concussion." He explained when she had the nerve to look pissed.

"What's your name?" He asked after a while. All this time, they'd challenged each other, pushed each other's buttons, he'd threatened to take her car, she'd saved his ass without hesitation, and he hadn't bothered to ask for her name.

"Letty…Ortiz." She softly admitted. Dom eyed her with confusion before the realization of who she _really_ was set in. This was Julian's kid sister. No wonder she could drive with the big boys.

"Well braveheart," He said gently, "nice car." He watched her smile at his compliment-her smile was gorgeous.

With tired breath, she muttered, "Thanks" as the paramedics came and took her from Dom's embrace.

Vince pulled up in his blue Nissan. "Come on man, your dad just called. He's fucking pissed."

Letting out a tired and aggravated sigh, he got into the passenger side of the car, and sped off before the police got the chance to interrogate him.

-_A month later…-_

Letty mingled around the crowds, everyone noticing her, giving props where it was due. Obviously, she wasn't racing, but she still came to make her presence known.

Thinking back on it, it had been a crazy past two weeks. Needless to say her mother nearly had a heart attack when she'd gotten the call from the doctors.

Julian was even more furious. One, because she'd gone and did exactly what he told her not to do. And two, she'd gotten hurt. He chewed her ass a new one when the doctors released her from the surgical wing into an out care patient room.

Her arm had been dislocated in three places, and her wrist was split to the bone. The doctors later explained that she was lucky she hadn't lost her whole arm, once they put surgical pins in her wrists.

Dom had shown up two days later, bringing her some car magazines. Letty laughed, relieved that someone actually brought something useful, other than dead ass flowers that reminded her too much of funerals.

She let him know that she hadn't narked him out to the police. And he informed her that her car had been totaled out, but managed to save a Nissan cobra, from the junkyard. It had been a total of 1200$, and his dad was making him work overtime at the garage to pay for it.

All in all, it could have been worse than a fucked up wrist and three days in the hospital. Especially since the paramedics claimed that she did have a concussion, and if she'd had fallen unconscious, she might have ended up in a coma.

She was working at the garage every night on her car, learning all she could from Adrian Toretto, while she surprised him with her vast knowledge about the engine. He deemed her a good enough mechanic, and offered her a job. She'd been there ever since.

More and more, she'd become a part of the Toretto crew. Skanks parted like the red sea when she showed up, because they knew she was about that life. Making her way over to Dom's younger sister Mia, she smiled.

"How ya livin' girl?" Mia asked, embracing her into a sisterly hug. She and Mia had gotten extremely close ever since the accident. Her father Adrian, was the first of the Toretto's to visit, and Mia was the second.

She claimed that she'd liked Letty because she had the courage to stand up to her brother, and she'd seen the whole thing. Letty wasn't used to girl time, but Mia was tolerable because she talked about more than just the mall.

For instance, she immediately caught on quickly that Letty had saved her brother out of more than just martyrdom. _"You don't send a Shelby cobra flying into a guardrail unless you like them."_

But that secret had stayed between her and Mia that day.

"Hey girl, how ya livin'?" Letty replied back to their usual greeting. Mia shrugged. "I can't call it. My brother is off fucking around. I wish he'd hurry up, though."

Letty raised a brow. "Got somewhere to be?"

Mia blushed. It was then Letty noticed her outfit. A black glittering top with criss cross spaghetti straps on her back, a pair of white skinny jeans, and open toe boots to match. Her makeup was pretty basic but her hair had been all pulled to the side, curls flowing to her rib cage.

"Shit, you're meeting someone?" Letty asked her as if she'd lost her mind. Mia could be outrageous sometimes.

Mia looked around. "Yeah, I'm meeting up with Jordan tonight, and we're going to hit Burger Planet after he races."

"But jeez, Mia, here?!" Letty nearly shouted, and Mia shushed her, looking around to make sure no one heard them.

"Don't shush me!" Letty argued, but nonetheless lowered her voice. "When your brother finds out he's going to eat Jordan alive, after he puts you in the truck of his car."

"_If_ he finds out." Mia said with a meaningful look. Letty took a step back in retreat. "Oh hell no! I'm not getting in the middle of this."

Mia's eyes grew big with desperation. "Come on Let! I can't have him chasing away every guy who finds me attractive! I'll be a virgin forever!"

Letty snickered at her whining. "Jordan's 16 Mia. And you're 14."

"And you're 15 and Dom's 17. Your point?" Mia shot back, ignoring Letty's glare. She knew Letty understood her reference on numbers.

With a sigh, Letty looked towards the ceiling. "What do I have to do?"

"Dom's racing last, and Julian is first. I just need you to keep him preoccupied and not looking for me." She explained quickly before Letty had a chance to change her mind.

"And how do you suppose I do that?" Letty asked. " Just tell him I'm sick, or have cramps or something." Mia suggested lamely.

"God, this isn't going to end well." Letty sighed looking at her watch. "Fine- you've got two hours before Dom races. If you're not back here before Dom crosses the finish line, we're both dead."

Mia nodded, understanding. Dom always made Mia count his winnings after every race. He'd notice if she wasn't there.

"What about Vince?" Mia asked after a moment. "Dom makes him my own appointed bodyguard."

"Easy, we'll throw skanks at him." Letty shrugged, and then asked. "How did you get here so early?"

Mia smirked. "I hang around with sophomores remember? My friend Jessica dropped me off. You?"

Hooking her thumb over her shoulder, she pointed at a black guy with braids. Mia knew him-Edwin. Talked a lot of shit, but was pretty funny and cool for the most part.

"Edwin picked me up and dropped me off." Letty explained anyway. "I hope you enjoy your date girl, because when Dom catches you in this outfit, he's going to flip his shit."

Mia eyed Jordan getting out of his Toyota supra, smiling brightly as he winked at her. "Yeah, but it will be worth it."

Letty rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the small smile that came to her lips. The engines were roaring and Jordan brought his car up to the starting line.

Mia and Letty dipped to each other at the same time-it was go time.

The plan had been working pretty good within the first hour and a half. Letty had asked a favor from a few chicks that she knew from school, that weren't _complete_ sluts.

They had preoccupied Vince easily enough. It was Dom that she was struggling to maintain. He'd already asked about Mia earlier, revealing that he knew her friend Jessica had given her a ride here. She'd given him ten different scenarios in the past 30 minutes.

"She went to find a bathroom. Something about her makeup being ruined." Letty lied, trying to sound like she didn't care. She couldn't think of anymore decent lies to tell, so she used some of Mia's.

Dom eyed her for a moment, and she eyed him back. Damn, he looked good tonight. Black wife beater, black leather jacket, and jeans that seemed to cling to his body in all the right areas

"WHAT?" she snapped after she caught herself ogling.

Dom didn't say more, and that pissed Letty off a bit. "I'm not her fucking keeper, ya know. That's Vince's job." She turned the heat to Vince, who was still occupied with some red headed skanks.

"You're hiding something." He said, and walked off towards Vince.

Letty cursed under her breath. Where the hell was Mia? Dom's race was in 15 minutes, and she hadn't shown back up.

After another five minutes, Letty took out her phone, sending Mia an angry text, which she didn't respond to. Now, _she_ was worried. She didn't know jack shit about this Jordan dude. Only he was good looking and on the junior varsity football team.

"Hey!" An arm grabbed her shoulder. Letty spun around to see a very happy Mia, panting a bit.

"'Hey'?" Letty snapped quietly. "Where the hell have you been?!" Mia blushed brightly. "We were making out in his car and lost track of time."

"Making out?" Letty asked suspiciously. Mia nodded vigorously. "Nothing more, I swear."

Letty eyed her closely, seeing her lips were a bit chapped, her hair slightly disheveled. "Fix yourself up girl. Your brother is on his way back over here."

Mia took out her compact mirror from her purse and fixed her hair. Applying some lip gloss, she closed it, spinning around just in time to meet her brother's pissed off face.

"Where the hell have you been? I've been looking for you for over an hour!" Dom demanded to know, watching her every move.

"I was hanging out with some friends from school! Is that a crime?!" Mia shot back, her voice rising to a screech.

Dom calmed a bit, taking in a deep breath. "I was worried about you Mia. That's all."

Mia relaxed too. "I'm fine bro. I was just in the bathroom not too long ago, fixing my makeup."

"You're always fixing your makeup." He accused lightly. Mia shrugged. "It's not a crime to want to be attractive Dom."

It was then Dom noticed her outfit. Letty whistled lowly, taking a safe step back. '_Here we go…'_

"What the hell do you have on, and where the hell have you been?!" Dom roared, seeing through all her lies.

Mia's eyes bulged before she could think of a good lie.

"I swear Mia, if you tell me another lie, I'm going to-" Dom threatened, but was cut short by Vince running up to them.

"Race is starting brother." Vince said, pausing to eye Mia's outfit. "What the hell do you have on?" he demanded to know, crossing his arms.

"Clothes, you moron!" Mia shot back, clearly not liking the change of events. Vince sent a glance to Dom. "They're waitin for ya."

"Watch 'em." Dom gave the order and Vince gave a nod of agreement.

"Hold up? Why me?" Letty objected. Dom wasn't_ her_ older brother! He had no right to say what she could or couldn't do, with whomever she wanted.

"Birds of a feather." Dom spat back, and disappeared into the crowd.

Needless to say, Dom won the race, hands down. But anyone could tell his heart wasn't truly in it tonight.

Tonight, he was pissed off big brother, hell bent on getting the truth from Mia, and strangling Letty.

Letty felt a bit guilty for lying to him, but Mia was her only true girlfriend. If she didn't show solidarity to her, then who?

But still, Dom was…..Dom. It hurt like hell when he gave her that look of skepticism, doubting every word she said from this night forward.

Letty watched him approach, so pissed off he might well have been on fire. Vince spoke first.

"Pool party at Spank's." Vince told him, reading the text message from Edwin. Dom smirked. "Let's go then."

"We're going to Spank's party?" Mia asked tentatively. Dom glared at her. "No_, we're_ going to Spank's party." He indicated between him and Vince. "After we drop you two clowns off at home."

Mia groaned, crossing her arms. "This is so not fair Dom!" That seemed to add fuel to a forest fire.

"NOT FAIR?!" Dom roared at her, making Mia shrink a bit. "What's not fair is having my own sister dress like a slut and lie to my face, while her friend sends me on a wild goose chase every ten minutes!"

_Her friend_? Now she was just Mia's friend? Letty felt something crack, and she could only assume it was her ego, or her heart.

"So yeah, you being out past curfew, on a school night and not ratting your ass out, seems more than fair." Dom continued, and Mia whipped the tears from her eyes.

Letty watched Dom ease up at seeing his sister's tears. He sighed. "Get in the car Mia."

Mia didn't say anything as she walked to Dom's car and sat in the back seat, her body shifted to look out of the small window.

Letty walked past him, pausing just to say, "You could have kept the 'slut' comment to yourself." She didn't care what he did at that point.

She got in and put an arm around her friend.

Tell me what you think- be honest-R&R-


	2. 1st Quarter Mile: July

**A/N**: Thanks for the reviews! I love the support. To be clear- I'm not writing a chronological moment to moment fiction about Dom and Letty. Just the important parts. ( quarter miles at a time, remember?) There are 4 quarters in this story, each quarter having 3 chapters representing the time shifts in their relationship. I hope that makes sense.

–R.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to FandF…

1st Quarter Mile Chapter 2: _July ( One year later...summer of Letty's 16__th__ birthday.)_

* * *

_Dom's POV:_

It had been a long summer. The sun was setting over Los Angeles, the heat, never decreasing.

Dom grunted as he finished tightening the bolts on the gears of the charger he and his father built. The National Stock Circuit was in one month.

Between beating up guys at the beach who ogled Mia, getting into shit with Vince, and helping his dad pay the bills, he rarely had time for the bullshit.

But he and trouble always seemed to find each other.

The Latina ringing of his cell phone, shrilled from his pocket. Without taking his eyes off his work, he reached for it.

"Yeah." He grunted.

"_Guess whose back sucker." _Came a familiar raspy voice.

"Braveheart." Dom smirked. The cute kid that saved his life last summer. Letty was a cool. Rough around the edges, but hella smart, and down to earth.

His family and hers had gotten pretty close that fateful day. So much so, that she'd become his father's second daughter/son.

She was a year older than Mia, and had made every attempt to make a name for herself, other than being a racer chaser chick. Mia might have mentioned her having a crush on him, but then again, Mia was always trying to hook him up with someone she approved of.

Letty was one of the guys- literally. She had no chest, she burped, farted, played video games and loved cars. Her mom Teresa, still gives her shit about how she dresses like a tomboy.

"How was the south?" He asked, not being able to hide his smile. He had to admit that he missed her last month. She had gone to Mexico to visit her uncle. Something her family had done it every summer apparently.

"_Hot as hell. Not to mention the damn mosquitos. But it was cool. Milo said 'wassup'." _Letty relayed.

Dom rolled from under the charger, bringing himself up to sit up, resting his arms on his knees.

"Tell your uncle thanks for the tip. That new fuel makes a hell of a difference. So you going to X's summer block party?"

"_Nah, I got shit to do tonight."_ Letty told him.

That surprised Dom. Usually, she was jumping all over the chance to see the team and talk shit with Mia.

"What do you have better to do?"

"_You know Antonio Fugues?"_ she asked him.

Dom remembered him all too well. They were in the same senior class this past year. He was a prick. A real fucking jock, not mention, he tried to put the moves on Mia freshman year.

"What about him?" Dom said with no enthusiasm.

"_He asked me out."_ Letty told him.

"THE HELL?" Dom shouted. Letty was like his little sister, no his little brother. The fact that of the matter is that asshole knew Dom wouldn't approve.

"_Problem with that?"_ Letty asked, her voice raised, ready for an argument.

"Hell yeah. He's only dating you to piss me off! Not to mention he's an asshole." Dom shouted. "Tell him you're busy. If he wants to see you that damn bad he'll have to see you at the block party." He'd be searching for hours.

"_No! It's my birthday! I don't feel like partying."_ Letty objected.

Dom glanced at the car calendar on the wall. July 12th. Shit. He always called her on her birthday. Letty didn't ask for much, and didn't demand a lot of attention-it was the simple acknowledgement of life and it'd become sort of their 'thing' since she saved his life two weeks after her birthday last year.

"I'm sorry braveheart. It's just the races are coming up-" Dom tried to explain, but Letty cut him off.

"_Don't apologize, it's cool."_ She said. _"Besides, I didn't feel like celebrating this year. Antonio is taking me to the pier."_

"Letty, I'm warning you. Go out with that polla and I'll…" Dom growled.

"You'll what?" Letty said her voice suddenly very clear. Dom glanced from his right to see her right in front of him.

He stared at the woman standing before him. For the first time, Letty's hair was down, bone straight, mid-drift cut off the tank top and low riding jeans, and sandals, her feet perfectly pedicured simple and nude. Her flat chest was replaced by C- cups and her bushy eye brows gone, replaced by a subtle yet defined arch.

Dom was speechless for the first time in his life. For a moment, neither spoke as they soaked up the image of each other.

"I saw Vince on the way here. He tried to grab my ass before I called him Kano on steroids. He hates that." Letty snickered.

Dom stood, closing his cell phone. " Call Antonio. Tell him you've got something better to do."

Letty couldn't hold back her grin as she glanced at the bulge in Dom's jeans. "Oh, like what?" as if she didn't already know.

Dom leered as he gave her another head to toe sweep. "Me."

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head. "Get over yourself, bro."

* * *

_Letty's POV_:

She rolled her eyes, and shook her head at his typical 'Dom the Conqueror' answer. "Get over yourself, bro."

Truth be told, her heart had soared at his reaction to her obvious transformation. But she wouldn't make it that easy for him.

She had been chasing Dominic Toretto for too long for a one night stand and another notch on the skank pole. No, she'd make him work for it.

"Why are you wasting your time with that tool?" Dom asked crossing his arms. "He treats every girl like shit."

"Maybe he'll make an exception." Letty defended, "I gotta get ready."

Without another word, she decided she had somewhere to be. Not really, but she didn't want to be linger the moment with arguments of Dom getting his way.

No, 'goodbye' was necessary because they never said 'goodbye' to each other. It was sort of like a family taboo. Goodbyes were for farewells and funerals. Something both of their families' knew all too well.

She headed to her house while sending a text to Mia. Despite being a year older than her, Mia knew more about dating than she ever did. Hell, she was a tomboy! What did she know about making men jealous?

All she knew were cars, basic hygiene and surprisingly, she was really good at school. Not that she'd tell anyone due to her reputation, but she was an honors student, and loved history the most. The whole world was about war-strategy. And she believed in strategy.

Her father had been in the military, Special Forces. He taught them how to fight, how to hold their own. Her brother, had enlisted into the Army last summer, trying to follow in their father's footsteps.

Mia had taken it pretty hard since she'd always been secretly in love with him. She went to Mexico to spend time with their favorite uncle and tell him the news. It had turned into an interrogation.

A text message had interrupted her thoughts.

_Hey, welcome home! I'll be over in 10.-MT' _ was Mia's response. Good. She needed a bit of girl advice.

* * *

"Oh my GOD!" Mia exclaimed after seeing her obvious new look. "Letty…"

Letty rolled her eyes. "Look, don't have a heart attack alright?"

Mia smiled, still in shock. "It's just…when you left, you were in a boy's XXL t-shirt and a pair of dickies."

"I still have them." Letty smirked. "But tonight, I've got a date."

Mia's attention shifted from neutral to drive. "Name, look, car make and model." She speeded though her questions, coming to sit on her bed.

"Antonio." She told her with a smirk, leaving out minor details because Mia already knew him.

Mia thought for a moment. "Antonio Fugues?"

"The one and only. Normally I wouldn't give his ass the time of day, but he was the first person today to wish me 'Happy Birthday' so…" Letty shrugged as a way of explanation.

The room had gotten quiet. Letty glanced back to see Mia so upset. "What's wrong girl?"

Mia almost burst into tears as she ran through her apologies. "I'm sooo sorry Let. I should have been the FIRST one to wish you happy birthday. I've never been late before!" she'd cried like they had been friends for centuries.

With a sigh, Letty waved it off. "Don't worry about it Mia."

"But I've always been the first to wish you happy birthday! It's like…tradition!" Mia exclaimed with a frown.

"Mia, it's really NOT that big of a damn deal. I know there's a lot going on this year." Letty sympathized. "Besides, you were never the first to wish me happy birthday anyways."

Mia crossed her arms, not liking the idea of being beaten. "Well who is?!" she demanded to know.

"Dom." Letty revealed a little too quietly. Mia could tell that bit of information had wounded her a little deeper than most of her stupid brother's rejections.

Mia put a soft hand on her best friend's shoulder. "Letty, he's-"

"Don't Mia." Letty cut her off.

She wasn't going to let something so small as her family and the Toretto family, especially Dom, forgetting to wish her Happy Fucking Birthday, ruin her mood. Yeah, it hurt like hell but she'd get over it.

Vince hadn't forgotten, and that was good enough. Next to Dom, Vince was her best guy friend, and the only one who knew better than to bring up her feelings for Dom, and she wouldn't discuss his undying affection for Mia. They were cool like that.

"I didn't call you over here to have a pity party. I need help getting ready for a date." Letty told her, trying to lighten the mood.

It worked-to an extent. Letty knew Mia wouldn't let this rest, but for now at least she was distracted.

"Well, Antonio likes the pier, so you'll probably need a bathing suit." Mia explained, thinking on if she had one that Letty could borrow.

Letty went to her closet and pulled out a designer bag. Mia just gazed back, wide eyed.

"What?" Letty asked. Mia pointed to the bag of one of her favorite stores.

With a lift of the shoulder, Letty told her, "My uncle's slutty wife decided to take me shopping. Unfortunately in addition to being perfect, she has really good tastes in clothes."

Mia reached in the back and pulled out the swimsuit. Well, it wasn't exactly a swimsuit…it was a freaking fishnet monokini that showed more than it covered. All ivory colored, the suit consisted of two strips of cloth that wouldn't cover a toddler's breasts, which connected to a halter at the top, and just below the naval to a pair of g-string bottoms.

Mia held it up in front of her. "My brother…is going to freak." She said in astonishment. Letty ripped it away from her.

"I didn't get it for your brother!" She objected, clearly pissed that everyone, her best friend included, thought that every change in her life was to appease Dominic Toretto. She had more pride than that.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Mia whined, trying to make amends. "I'm just saying…he's going to wish he had taken the chance."

"To lay me? I've already passed on that." Letty told her.

Mia shook her head. "No, I mean the chance to be with you when he could have."

Letty shrugged. "Yeah, well. Life's a bitch."

Mia laughed. "Come on. I'll help you get ready. I know exactly what I'm doing to your hair."

-By the time they'd finished, Letty barely recognized herself in the mirror. Her hair was in soft curly locks, her skin glowing thanks to the shimmer lotion, compliments of Mia. Mia had helped her put on mascara, a bit of brown eye liner and she applied the carmex herself. Nothing too special.

Donning a fishnet bare shoulder cover up, and a pair of blue jean short shorts, she was ready for her date.

Mia nodded in approval. "I'd do ya."

Letty laughed. "If only Mia, if only."

Staring at herself in the mirror, she prayed she wouldn't see Dom tonight. The last thing she wanted for Antonio to get beat up, or for Dom to criticize her clothing.

He was older than her by two years, but they hung around the same crowd.

"Let, I gotta ask you a question. But you gotta promise not to get mad, okay?" Mia asked. Letty raised a brow, but nodded.

"Why are you going out with Antonio? I mean, he doesn't seem like your type. He's good looking, has a nice car, but he doesn't know shit about it."

She was right. Antonio was completely opposite from any of the guys she found attractive- guys like Dom.

"You remember how you're always saying, that sometimes people only saw you as Dom's sister? Not a person?" Letty tried to explain.

Mia nodded. "Yeah."

"Well it's the same thing. Everyone thinks I'm Dom's caddie. I've always been into him, but…I don't know. It's like I emerged from beneath Julian's shadow, just to fall under Dom's." Letty told her.

True, some of people's perspective of her was her own fault. She'd built up this reputation for being a bad ass. But her uncle's slut wife had taught her a very valuable lesson. No man wants a woman who doesn't know her self-worth.'

"I understand. There's nothing wrong with wanting to be first. Lord knows, sometimes I wish I was. Maybe things would have been different." Mia said.

They paused and thought about it for a while, then in unison said, "Nah…" and laughed.

* * *

Dom was NOT pleased. He got dressed in an all-white wife beater and new jeans. The block party was going to be live tonight. Lots of girls, drinks, and fancy cars along the streets.

But his thoughts were on earlier this evening, seeing Letty for the first time in 3 months. She looked…damn.

What the hell was going on? Letty had breasts now? He'd forgotten her birthday? She had breasts and was going out with Antonio?!

Hell no. Letty was family. And if he wouldn't let that pendejo get within 20 feet of Mia, and he damn sure wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

And knowing Antonio, something would-or at least he'd try. He had to do something. Antonio likes pretending to be fucking Don Juan, taking girls to the beach, spouting bullshit about the sunset, and astrology. Then he'd take him to make out cave to get screwed.

Not on his watch. Dom reached in his phone to call X. "Hey, change of plans."

* * *

Letty just looked to the sky, praying that this shitty night would come to an end. She made a mistake-admittedly.

Antonio was good looking, and self-centered. All through dinner and a movie, he mostly talked about his car and how much horse power it had. The only problem was, she knew the full potential of his Camero, and knew Antonio didn't really know how to handle it. And when he wasn't talking about himself, he was talking some crap about the stars, like she really gave a shit.

"Hey mami, let's get a beer." Antonio invited as they pulled up to the pier. What she saw almost made her jaw drop.

There were loads of people there. Cars decked out and the racing crews scattered all over the place. There was a warehouse where all the base music was coming from.

_Dom…_She growled to herself. Unbelievable. He'd move the whole party just to spy on her?!

Antonio however, thought it was the best thing in the world. He got out the car, opening the door for her. "Come on. The party is in full swing tonight. Let's dance."

She shrugged. One dance wouldn't hurt. They made their way over to the makeshift dance floor. Of course, Dom and Vince were there, talking with Edwin, Hector, and a few other racing guys.

When Dom had spotted them, he came sauntering over, casually-as if he hadn't set this whole thing up.

He approached Antonio without a smile. Letty saw in his eyes. One false move, and it was going down. Shit.

* * *

Dom spotted Letty first, and swallowed hard. She looked stunning. Way too good looking to be latched to Antonio's side. She could be in better positions-like underneath him-or on top, he wasn't picky.

Lately he'd been thinking about her in more than just a brotherly fashion. Whenever she smiled, her whole face lit up, and her voice was hearty-like she wasn't faking her enjoyment in life. He liked that.

Her new transformed body was wreaking havoc on his senses, but it was nothing in comparison to looking in her eyes. He'd always loved her eyes. And those said eyes were digging into his chest.

She figured out his little plan, and was pissed. Good. It was a silent indicator to the both of them, that he'd be watching.

"Toretto." Antonio grinned, while putting his arm around Letty.

When she didn't shrug him off, he felt his tempter begin to simmer. " Braveheart, fancy seeing you two here." He said carefully.

Letty glared at him. "Yeah. Life is a shit load of coincidences."

"You're not wearing enough clothes. It'll get cold." He said to her, checking out her outfit. The cover-up didn't cover up a damn thing. He could see her bathing suit underneath, and hell would freeze over and thaw out again before he let Antonio peel it off of her.

"She looks good to me." Antonio openly admired. Letty frowned, but didn't move away. "Look, Toretto. You look like you could use a beer. And don't worry; I'll keep her plenty warm."

Letty saw Dom's temper spike up a few notches as he advanced. "I'm thirsty- let's get me a drink." She offered quickly. Antonio moved back slightly before smirking. "Whatever you say mami."

Before they walked off, Dom grabbed Antonio by the arm, muttering low in his ear, "Let me be clear. You break her heart; I'll break your neck."

He saw the fear in Antonio's eyes before he smiled cockily. Antonio yanked his arm back and let Letty pull him into the crowd. That was a direct challenge, and Dom knew he'd accepted it.

* * *

As the night fell in full swing, the date just seemed to go downhill. Antonio had way too much to drink, and was grabbing all parts of her body on the dance floor.

They'd gone into the warehouse to escape the heat, but that only intoxicated him more. When he'd put his hand down her shorts to grab her but, she shoved him.

"Hey!" she shouted, having enough of his shit. The music was too loud for anyone to really notice her discomfort.

Antonio grabbed her arm, yanking her back to him. "Don't act like you don't like it." He whispered in her ear, licking her neck.

Letty felt like she was going to vomit. She pushed him again, this time Antonio's anger got the best of him. Grabbing her cover up, he tried to pull her back, ending up ripping the garment off.

She scowled, seeing half the guys undress her with their eyes. Antonio's resolved snapped. He pulled her to him, trying to practically rape her on the dance floor.

Letty kneed him in the groin, watching him stumble back. Antonio cursed, heaving heavily as he stood and tried to come at her again. Taking full advantage of the space, she delivered a solid right cross that had his face flaying around. She finished off with an upper cut, landing him in the mist of the crowd.

Cheers came from the spectators as she walked over him. Vince had appeared before her, catching the last bit of action.

"You alright?" He asked, not taking his frown off Antonio's wounded body.

With a nod, she took his beer. "Guess I'm not so special after all."

She walked off, disappearing into the crowd. This was one fucked up night.

Letty sat on the roof of the warehouse, attempting to get some air. Tonight was a disaster. She couldn't believe her _'sweet sixteen'_ consisted of her on a date, with a guy who just did NOT understand the word 'No', and no one who she really gave a shit about wishing her happy birthday.

She didn't answer any of Mia's a million and one questions when she spotted her at the warehouse. She simply grabbed another beer, and ignored the hoots and hollers of the guys who approved of her bathing suit. No one bothered to care that she was missing the cover-up that Antonio so carelessly ripped off her body as he tried to paw her.

She'd been nervous when he got physical with her. That slight fear fueled her adrenaline and she attacked like her brother had taught her. Anyone who saw Antonio now, could see how the date ended. With a black eye and blue balls.

But even _that_ wasn't the true source of her wretched attitude. Something wasn't right, and she could feel it looming over her, like a damn disease.

* * *

After hearing about Antonio, Dom had lost it. The bastard had some nerve, showing up and showing out here, like he was untouchable.

Vince explained how Letty served him up after he tried his rougher advances at hearing the word no. Edwin also commented that he'd found a ripped top, but he'd assumed it was some skanks. The same coverup Letty had been wearing.

That's all it took. Before anyone could stop him, Dom had searched the crowd to find Antonio, macked up with some blonde, pretending like he wasn't trying to force himself on Letty just ten minutes ago.

No doubt, he was telling a tale of how he'd got into a race fight over some dude who owed him money.

Antonio caught him in mid advance, but it was too late. He was cornered by Dom, Vince, and Hector.

"I gave you fair warning." Dom growled, and had proceeded to beat his face in. Afterwards, he'd gone looking for Letty. Mia told him she was on the roof, and that's where he'd found her.

"Hey." He called out.

She didn't acknowledge him as his timber voice as he approached. She sipped her corona and kept her gaze on the ocean.

Taking a seat next to her, he spoke quietly. "Vince told me what happened. I should have been there." He'd made a vow to Julian last December to watch out for her-and he felt like shit for slipping up.

Shaking her head, Letty tried to shrug it off. "All bronze, no brains."

Her voice was steady, but her fingers trembled a bit from the memory. It was short lived as she pulled herself together. Not short enough for Dom. He noticed everything.

Taking off his jacket, he covered her shoulders, wrapping an arm her neck. She had changed so much this year, but in some ways, not at all. She was still tough and aggressive, with a slick tongue- but he knew there was a side to her that not even he got privileged enough to see quite often.

They sat that way for a fashion. In comfortable silence, enjoying the sounds of the ocean.

"I broke his jaw." He murmured in her ear. "Consider it a birthday present."

She suddenly burst into laughter. Only Dom would justify that as a proper gift. But he could tell, it was the best gift she'd gotten all day.

"Thank you." She chuckled quietly. Bringing her head closer to his shoulder, Dom kissed her temple. "You're welcome, braveheart. Happy Birthday."

"Dom, baby, the race is starting!" A skank named Stacey interrupted from the roof entrance. She waited for a moment, before disappearing-getting the hint that he wasn't going to follow her.

Letty raised a brow toward the door. "You better get out there. Your army of skanks are waiting for you."

Dom grinned at her obvious distaste in his choice of women. "They can wait. I'm where I need to be."

That comment caught her attention, and she just stared. Dom's gaze was unwavering, but heated. Something was definitely awakened, and he knew there was no turning back, once he decided to cross that line.

Good sense advised him not to go down that road, but his dick practically threatened to dismember itself if he didn't.

"So why the face? I know that culo hadn't rattled you that much." Dom asked, nudging her with his knee. He broke contact first to prevent his mind from wandering into uncharted territory.

She shook her head, looking down before shrugging. "Julian hasn't called in six months, man."

He nodded in understanding. Her brother had gone away for basic training last summer and had been deployed that October. He made three calls every month like clockwork-one to him, one to his mother, and one to Letty.

"Maybe he's busy. Deployment isn't the same as BT." Dom tried to comfort her, but she didn't bite.

"Last time I heard from him was in January, and today is my birthday. He said he was heading over to Iraq."

"Your brother is smart. He wouldn't be on the front line." He explained, rubbing her arm softly.

"He told me, the moment he stops calling, he's dead." Letty informed him, taking another swig of her beer.

"He's fine Letty. He'll call when he can." Dom encouraged, but was a bit worried himself. Had it really been six months since hearing from Julian?

"How do you know?" She asked the million dollar question.

Dom thought for a moment, knowing she'd cling to his answer like it was the holy gospel itself.

"I don't know. Some things you have to take on faith." He said softly, moving his arm to place one of her curls behind her ear.

They got caught in another staring match. Her eyes deep, mysterious, her lips soft. She was something to be explored, in depth, privately. He could think of a few suitable places, but none more perfect than his bedroom. All he needed was one kiss. One kiss to let him know it was more than the bathing suit drawing him in...

" Hey Toretto!" Edwin came this time, clearly upset at having to be messenger. "Time is money, man!"

Letty broke contact first this time, clearing her throat. "Go." She told him, the moment evidently over.

Dom sighed, rising to his feet. When she didn't budge, he waited expectantly. "Aren't you coming?"

She shrugged. "I've seen the other guys' race, Dom. Easy money."

"You expect me to race without my trophy there?" Dom questioned her as if she had said something outrageous. She glared at being called his 'trophy', and he smiled.

When she fell silent again, he said. "Come on, braveheart. It'll take your mind off it."

Letty chuckled at his nickname for her, and shook her head in defeat. "Why not; this night is already shot to hell anyway."

She stood and they headed downstairs.

EOC

* * *

Trivia: July 12th is Michelle Rodriguez's **real** birthday. How fitting.

-About this chapter-I know everyone was expecting some huge sex fest with dom and letty as soon as she turned 16. Sorry to disappoint...but don't be too disappointed ((wink wink)).

A/N: I know for a fact that I don't review every good story I read, I just keep reading it. So, I won't be offended if you don't review every chapter (however, it would be nice XD ) . **BUT**, I do request from the readers, that if you at least **LIKE** it, then hit like, or add me to your** follow/favorite/watch** lists. Some indicator from the readers to the author to keep going. Thanks a million!

-R


	3. 1st Quarter Mile: August

A/N: Thanks again for the love and support. You'll be happy to know- I update every two days. So you won't have to be suspense for long- trust me, it's only 12 chapters, so updating shouldn't be too strenuous. BTW—this is one of my favorite chapters in this story- it covers **A LOT** of events, so enjoy the long chapter.

-R.

Disclaimer: Don't own Fast and Furious, or the music…etc…

1st Quarter Mile-Chapter 3: _August_

* * *

**_One month later…._**

It was unbelievably hot. The California heat was at least 100 degrees, and the garage 110. It was a Friday, and they were in full service.

Cars had pulled in, getting tune ups and oil changes, alignments and rotor changes. And to top it off, it was time for emissions testing.

"Letty, when you get done, car number 32 is yours." Adrian called from the office.

She had gotten there early, hoping she'd be able to add new fuel injectors to her cobra. Apparently not-she'd come into a mess. Adrian was working on two cars at once, Dom over the engine of one, and Vince had handling a truck.

Letty sighed in acknowledgement, earning a snicker from Vince. Being the fastest worker had its setbacks.

"Don't give me that look Oreo. I'm starting to think you can't stand the heat." Adrian joked, before returning to his phone call.

She frowned at him calling her 'Oreo' in public. Adrian had been calling her that ever since he'd introduced himself in the hospital. He said it was because she was dark and hardened on the outside, but pure mush on the inside. It didn't help that her last name was 'Ortiz' either.

Glancing to her left, she checked out the next car. It was a Pontiac GTO. "Sweet!" She exclaimed, walking up to it, examining the body work.

"Where you goin' braveheart?" Dom's voice called from the other end of the shop.

She turned her head to see him, dirty wife beater and dickies. Workers boots, no matter the temperature outside. He looked….edible. And lately, she'd been ravenous. Blame it on the pheromones.

But time just never seemed to be in their favor. Ever since her birthday, they'd have moments, however they were fleeting. So much so, that they'd danced around their attraction to one another with squabbles over petty things. Such as American muscle. They always got into arguments over who got to work on the cool cars. Needless to say-Dom weaseled his way into getting most of them.

"You heard 'im! Number 32 is mine" Letty hollered back with a smug expression.

"Number 32 is over there." Dom indicated with his wrench, to the right.

Letty's eyes followed the direction and nearly cried. "Ah man!" It was a minivan. "Give me a break!"

Vince laughed at her fallen expression. "Sorry sister! That's what you get for being such a speed demon. Most of these jobs are easy enough, but there are too many of them."

Letty shot daggers at Adrian, who lifted his hands in surrender, before winking at her and giving a smile. Her resolve cracked a bit. Damn Torettos. She opened the hood of the minivan and examined the problem. Spark plugs. Grabbing what she needed, she got to work.

Dom approached her, his cocky demeanor in full gear. He leaned against the open hood of the minivan as she worked. "The Pontiac GTO is number 42. _Mine_."

Letty paused watching his eyes roam over her body. The heat giving sheen to her skin, her black sports bra clinging to her body like a second skin. She wore a pair of baggy dickies too, supported by her favorite flamer grunge boots, hair pulled into a messy bun. She looked like shit, but for some reason, that seemed to turn him on even more.

"Not everything in this garage belongs you know, ya know." Letty informed him with a raise of her brow.

"You sure about that?" He asked, taunting her. She looked at him, seeing his desire to screw her on top of a minivan, or better yet, a GTO. She allowed herself to let him see that the feeling was mutual.

But his arrogance only made the chase more interesting, and the stakes higher. She knew they both enjoyed the game-but sooner or later, someone was going to crack-and it wasn't going to be her.

"Watch yourself." She warned a double meaning as she finished the job; letting the heavy minivan hood close down hard.

Dom took a step back, surprised and intrigued at her bold attempt to almost crush his arm and incidentally his ego, under the hood.

She smirked, walking off to get her next assignment. _Round two-Letty._

* * *

Adrian closed up shop at around 7:00pm. Giving his son the keys, he instructed. "Stay out of trouble, and make sure you're there in the morning."

Dom smiled, accepting the keys. Saturday was the National Stock Circuit Finals. Everyone was going to be there, and everyone was going to see his dad win.

They'd been waiting for this moment for two years, and it was finally just 24 hours away. Come tomorrow, everything would be different.

As his dad drove off, Dom took out his cell phone. Hector had sent him a text- _Boiler's Rock-City VS Hills. Pink Slips only…ventosas._

Dom laughed at the ending part. Kids from the hills always looked down on the city kids for obvious reasons. No money, no class, less than exceptional education; the usual. But they'd made a terrible mistake if they thought their Ferraris' were going to save them from this ass whoppin'.

Sending a zip text to Mia and Vince, he decided to make a rare trip to the mall. He needed something Hills' worthy.

* * *

**_- Night Fall..._**

The night air held full of promise. Everyone was talking about the race at Boiler's Rock. The craziest terrain in California. It was dead center between the Hills and Los Angeles, and there were little to no street lights.

Only a stupid, ambitious, and reckless idiot would want to race there. Which was why they were going-they were teenagers, after all.

She did a once over in the mirror, checking her make up from the pointers Mia gave her-only adding an adequate coating of black liner around her eyes, and pinkish nude lip stick to make her features come out. Her hair was bone straight, but tussled, giving her a very feline look- while allowing her dignity to remain intact. She could follow simple instructions from _Cosmo_ when she wanted!

Clawed black leather pants did wonders for her figure, especially her ass. How the pants stayed in tacked with panther slashes in them, she'd never know. Stella McCarthy had good taste- who knew her uncle's slutty new wife would definitely come in handy?

She donned an all-black bustier. It was leaning more towards a bra, but she loved the way it heart-shaped her breast while the spaghetti strings criss crossed in the back, connect just below her shoulder blades.

Tonight, she was ready for whatever- whether it be a race, a fight, or a party (if not all three), she was down. And damn if she didn't look good doing it.

Putting on her father's dog tags, and arm bands, She head out the door, slipping on her gun metal leather jacket in one stride.

She picked up her cell phone and sent Mia a text to be ready. For some reason, she was giddy with excitement-maybe tonight, one of her dreams, or all, might come true.

* * *

Dom leaned against the side of his car, at Boiler's Rock, checking out the competition. Valley jock straps stood next to their Ferraris trying to look just as cool, but failing miserably in Polo's and American Eagle brands.

Vince came up to him, chewing on some sunflower seeds. "Busters." He mumbled with a grimace. Dom nodded in agreement.

Other than the obvious stare off, there was music and beer going around, everyone making side bets. So far, the competition had been three to two in the city's favor. But that last race, Edwin didn't stand a chance against some Buster's Porsche-so now they were tied.

At hearing the sound of a familiar engine, Dom glanced to the west to see Mia being hugged by Hector. When he was certain Hector's hands hadn't gone further than the city limits, he changed his focus, looking for Letty.

Vince tapped him on his chest before pointing in the direction not too far from Mia. "Eh brother. Check out the rack on…Is that….Letty?!" He couldn't believe his eyes, as his words fell short.

What Dom found had him instantly hard, instantly intrigued, and just as instantly pissed off. She stood over there chatting it up with Edwin, Zoom and a few other racers about the last races and the stats.

He walked up on the group, making his presence known as he stared down at her. She met his gaze straight on-bold, bright, beautiful.

"Looking to impress someone, braveheart?" He asked, checking out her killer outfit. She looked damn good in leather. Too good to be ogled by hector and Edwin. He motioned for the boys to give them some space, and they complied.

"Are you looking to be impressed?" She fired back, ready for a fight if necessary.

Dom let out a brief laugh before nodding. "Nice outfit. A bit bold, though." He commented, tugging on a strand of her hair playfully. He didn't know what she did too it, but it looked like tamed bed hair-if that was possible. He liked that it reminded him of sex.

"Not as bold as you touching me without permission." Letty said, indicating to his hand that was playing with her hair. He wasn't offended. If she hadn't wanted him to touch her, the he was certain he wouldn't be.

"Since when do I need permission to touch what belongs to me?" He wanted to know, taking a step closer.

"And who says I belong to you?" She nearly whispered. They were centimeters apart, practically breathing in each other's breath. She smelt of roses and dove soap. Her eyes drawing him in closer and deeper.

"Dom, you're up!" Hector called from somewhere in the crowd.

"Come on, braveheart. Be my trophy tonight." He said, taking a small step back to give his hormones some air. This moment was intoxicatingly thick with sexual tension.

Letty rolled her eyes, but smirked. "Sucker, if you win this race tonight, I just _might_ consider it." Her voice held so much promise she walked off, giving a great parting shot of her ass.

Dom laughed, and headed to his car. That was a blatant invitation-one he was fully going to accept.

* * *

Letty waited for the race to finish, anxiety building up, and anticipation thick as the moments ticked down.

It was a rocky terrain, and easy to get lost. What if he didn't win? What if he didn't _want_ to win? What if…?

The sound of his engine roared before his car even appeared. Cheers went senseless as Dom crossed the finish line as the victor. He got out of his car accepting congratulations from friends and admirers.

She watched him search the crowd. She smirked, waiting for him to notice. A chance he never got, because some skank obstructed his view, pulling him in for a very dramatic kiss.

What. The. Fuck.. Letty's mind tried to grasp the concept that some tramp had stolen a kiss that was rightfully hers. _Bad move bitch…_ She internally scorned as she started to make her way over.

"COPS!" someone shouted, and immediately, everyone scrambled to their cars. Mia grabbed her hand, pulling her back towards her car. "Letty what are you doing, come on!"

The reality of what was going at the present, forced her to focus on getting them out of dodge. Cars scrambled like crazy, finding exits to disappear.

Letty pulled out just as the cops arrived, singling her out amongst the leaving cars. "Damn." She cursed, racing through the ravine.

Mia looked over her shoulder. "Ah hell, we've got two more on our ass!"

Letty checked her side view mirror to confirm. She made a sharp left, causing her to be in a shopping district of the Hills. An upscale part of town, where everything was freshly painted and not graffitied over.

She barely had time to fight an eye roll as she dodged another cop on her right. "Hold on!" She told Mia, and swerved into the opposing lane, ending up on the next block. Bad move.

The cops had corned her into a T intersection with no way out. Dammit she hated not being able to navigate in Beverly Hills.

"Jesus Letty, they're everywhere!" Mia observed the obvious with dread, trying to find an exit.

Letty weighed her options. Cops were on her left, cops on the right. Shit, she was trapped. Mia continued to look around nervously..

"Oh god, oh god!" Mia panicked. Her father was already out at the tracks, so he wouldn't be able to bail her out till Monday. Or worse, he'd drop everything and come bail her out, missing his race.

"Letty, we _cannot_ go to jail." Mia stressed looking at her. Letty glanced at her best friend, who seemed to be losing it.

She stared straight ahead as the cops continued to shout for her to get out of the car. There was a department store in front of them, high end type. The glass windows were as clear as water. Windows that let out on the next block.

"Mia." Letty said after a while, nodding toward the store. "Let's go shopping."

Mia followed her gaze and swallowed. "Oh shit." For the first time in her life, that did NOT sound like the best of ideas.

"We've got two choices- either that, or wait till our parents kill us, while the police impound our cars." Letty explained clearly.

Mia didn't hesitate. "Let's go shopping." There was no way she was spending one _minute_ in jail.

Letty revved the engine. "Get in the back seat and buckle up." She instructed as she put on her aviators.

Mia did as she was told, and gave a shoulder pat of confirmation when she was ready. Letty turned on her NOS, and switched on her neon lights. Loud music could blared as she roared the engine, making the tires screech and burn out.

The police got into defensive position as they heard Disturbed's version of "Down with the Sickness" blast through the speakers.

When they started to move in on her, Letty turned on her high beams, let her feet off the gas, went flying past the police, speeding into the department store.

Clothes and accessories went flying as she sped through, shattering the glass on the other side. Her windshield cracked a bit, something sharp stabbing her in the chest.

"Fuck!" She hollered in pain, as she let out on the other end of the street, drifting ever so slighting before whipping off into the darkness.

When she heard sirens in close range, she turned off her music, her lights, and hit the NOS. Vanishing into the night.

* * *

Dom had watched Letty boldly crash her car into a department store, only to come out drifting on the other end. _I think I'm in love…_ he half joked to himself.

Vince slapped him on the back, in cheers with everyone else who'd made it to the cliffs to watch the scenario, ready to put Dom's plan to scramble into action when he gave the order.

Kids from the Hills and City had all rallied together when they'd discovered someone had gotten caught. If it's one thing no racer liked, it was a cop.

"Did you see that shit, man!? Esa es bold ass latina!" Zoom screeched.

"Ya girl has some Mandingo nuts!" Edwin claimed, with a laugh. "LETTY!" he screamed as her car whipped into darkness.

Dom heard a few girls whine about that being their favorite place to shop. He smirked- it would be just like Letty to destroy it.

Hector walked up to Dom. "Victory party?" he asked. Dom nodded, still not taking his eyes off the road. "My house." He commanded.

Hector nodded, sending a text out. Everyone got in their respective cars and headed to Toretto's.

Vince and Dom were the last to leave, Vince asking. "You don't think Mia got hurt do you?"

"If she did, I'll kill both of them. Let's go." Dom threatened, walking to his car. He commended Letty's act to think fact, and even more so on not getting locked up. But when it came to the safety of his sister, he had to check the bullshit.

* * *

Mia uncrouched from her position in the backseat, looking first out the rear view window, then back at Letty, laughing in astonishment.

"We are waaay out of control!" She laughed excitedly. Letty joined her, removing her aviators so she could see. Mia adrenaline was short-lived when she noticed that Letty 's movements were a bit stiff.

"Oh God, you're hurt. Pull over." She demanded. Letty did as she requested, as Mia hopped back into the passenger seat, turning on the overhead light to get a better view.

Glass was all over the front seat, but what made her gasp was the chunk that was sticking out of Letty's chest. "Dammit!" she scorned, as Letty winced.

"Is it that bad?" Letty breathed, trying to look down to see it. _Yeah_, Letty thought as she witnessed the piercing shard. It was bad.

"If we go to a hospital, we might as well turn ourselves in." Letty warned, causing Mia to frown even more.

"Come on. We'll stitch it up at my house." Mia suggested finally. "Move over, I'll drive. If you lift your arm any more, you may break the glass."

As Letty moved carefully to the passenger seat, Mia grabbed her jacket from the back and put it around her shoulders. "My brother is going to flip."

"He might not, given the situation." Letty tried to sound optimistic. Damn her chest hurt, and her body was still rattling from the impact.

She laughed in defeat as Mia cut her a skeptical glance, starting the engine. Nah, he was going to flip his shit.

They entered the house to hear cheers of applause. They smiled, and laughed at the jokes their friends made about them being the latina Thelma and Louise.

"Keep your jacket closed, and head for the bathroom." Mia whispered instructions as she headed into the kitchen.

Letty made a bee line for the stairs, but of course, there was no escaping the crowd of people who blocked her way.

Some skank bumped into her, causing the glass to shift. Unable to contain the slight screech of pain, she gripped the railing.

Two very familiar hands grabbed her by her side and helped up the steps. Letty didn't have to ask-she knew it was Dom. And by his expression, he was beyond pissed.

Without a word, he headed straight for his room, entering his bathroom. After flicking on the lights, he grabbed her by the waist, sitting her on the bathroom counter.

Letty took that time to examine her surroundings. Dom was pretty basic, clean. His bathroom smelled of aftershave and mint mouthwash. There was a small magazine rack in the corner-filled with playboy editions and car magazines. More car than playboy, luckily.

He helped her take off her jacket, cursing under his breath when he saw the shard.

"It looks worse than it is." Letty tried to assure him. Dom had given her the same cynical look Mia had, not 15 minutes ago.

She waited for the storm that was about to hit, but Mia came just in time to save her, with a first aid kit and a bottle of tequila.

"You alright?" Dom asked, sparing his sister a withering stare, checking for any injuries.

Mia nodded quickly. "I'm fine. Letty made me ride in the back seat. I was perfectly safe."

"Well I guess that's all that matters." Dom said sarcastically, moving out of the way, watching her go to work.

* * *

"I think that's all of it." Mia winced, taking out the last shard of glass. Three pieces had gotten themselves stuck in her upper left chest, right under her shoulder blade.

"Thanks girl." Letty winced as she sat on the bathroom counter. Mia had given her shots to ease the pain, and Dom had taken shots to pass the time.

Mia smiled, shaking her head in amazement. "Unbelievable. You do realize you went through two glass windows right?" Laughing, she finished stitching her up.

"You were right there with me." Letty said after another swallow of tequila.

Dom listened to the two of them giggle like it was a laughing matter. Finishing up his sixth shot, he eyed Letty. "Mia, give us a minute." He didn't really wait for her to reply as he closed in the bathroom.

Mia nodded, letting herself out of his way, making her way back to the party.

"That could have been worse." Letty said with a sigh, taking another shot of tequila. She was a bit numb to the pain of her chest, but her body was still sore.

"Yes, it could've." He agreed crossing his arms. He watched her roll her eyes and reply, "I was talking about the stitches."

"I wasn't." He shot back. Letty thought she was captain freakin' America who spoke Spanish. Most days, he let her go right along thinking that. But tonight, they needed to talk-for his sanity more than anything else.

"Ease up, man. I'm not dead, you know." She rebutted, taking another swig of alcohol. No, she wasn't dead, but she was pretty buzzed.

Dom took the bottle from her and set it by the sink, daring her to object. She rolled her eyes, but didn't argue. Smart.

"Despite what you might think, you're not that indestructible, Letty." He told her softly, but seriously.

Letty paused at hearing him use her name for the first time in ages. Before she let herself dig too deep, she lifted her chin. "Well, at least I don't lack conviction."

"What you did tonight was stupid and reckless." Dom pointed out, grabbing the tequila bottle again.

"Jealous?" Letty asked with a leer. She raised her brow in typical Letty fashion when she felt like baiting him.

He poured the alcohol directly over her wound. "SHIT!" She screamed, her eyes blazing at him in shock and retaliation.

"I don't wanna have to visit you in the hospital, again." He said, applying a cotton ball to her wound, wiping away excess blood. "Or explain to your mother and my father, how you got there." He finished, throwing the swab in the trash bin.

"Despite what _you _might think," Letty countered, using own words against him. "I'm not one of your skanks. I can handle this."

"So can I." Dom replied, sealing her lips to his. With a swipe of his tongue, she granted him access to deepen the kiss. Damn, this girl was a good kisser. She pulled him in closer as he gripped her hips, pulling her torso to his.

Something possessive came over him as her arms snaked around him, a small feminine moan, which was very un-Letty-like escaped her throat. Dom grinned; his unable to hide his pride at knowing his touch got her off.

Letty broke up the kiss with a pant trying to catch her breath, "Dom…"

"Don't." He breathed and attacked her mouth again. He wasn't about to let anyone, himself or her included, pull them out of this moment. They been screwing around this too for his liking, and there wasn't a better opportunity like the present.

"Bedroom." She panted between kisses_. Hell of an idea_. Dom's mouth trailed kisses down her neck, while complying with her request.

* * *

**_Morning..._**

Letty didn't remember much about last night. Well, that was a lie-she remembered getting her brains screwed out quite thoroughly. She didn't think it was physically possible to orgasm so many times in one night.

Admittedly, she'd never had one before. Sex wasn't something new, but last night was. It was new, and wonderful, and it had her feeling…feminine.

Last night, Dom had treated her so rough, and yet so cripplingly soft that it hurt. He'd touched parts of her body that she hadn't even discovered.

A small part of her wondered if he treated every skank that way. But as soon as the thought escaped her mind, it vanished.

She'd been privy to the before and after effects of Dom's sexual exploits. Many girls left the house pissed off. Not because of the sex- lord knows, some of those perras had the voice of opera singers-but because of after. They'd think they were special, having breakfast with the family, hanging out with the team. All those dreams shattered when Dom would kick them out at 5AM.

Thinking of which, Letty glanced at the digital alarm clock on the nightstand. It was 6:45AM. If she didn't want to feel the rejection of Dom of kicking _her_ out, she'd better move her ass.

Sitting up, She started to shift, trying to make as little noise as possible. As one of her legs touched the floor, a heavy arm wrapped itself around her waist.

"Where you goin'?" Dom questioned, still half sleep, not raising his head from his pillow, or opening his eyes.

Letty fell short of an answer, so she remained quiet. She wasn't about to admit to sneaking out so he wouldn't have the option of throwing her out.

"If I didn't want you in my bed, you wouldn't be." He spoke groggily, as if reading her mind.

Letty lifted her foot back in the bed, and snuggled back into her sleeping position; spooned on her side next to Dom. "So where do you bring all your skanks?" she asked.

"Guest room." He answered drifting back to sleep. She couldn't help it. She just couldn't help the smile that had bloomed on her face, like a kid in a candy store.

* * *

**_2 hours later…._**

Dom awoke to an added weight in his bed-he smirked. Letty was passed out on his pillow, the sheets tossed around her hips, leaving her back exposed. Her hair, which he had discovered always smelt of rose petals, was tossed in every direction, a mass of hair blackening the otherwise white sheets. Wild lover, wild sleeper.

He sighed, taking the opportunity to reflect on last night. There were a few words that he could use to describe their evening. Hot, clumsy, rushed, slow, strenuous, pleasurable….but none of those words could directly sum up what had transpired.

Letty was a spirited one, he'd give her that. She didn't back down from his challenge, or shy away from his advances. She damn sure didn't act coy. She was a girl who knew what she wanted and didn't like being told no.

Their first time was much like porno. Switching positions, discovering the fastest way to hit the G-spot. The next time, it was more evangelical- exploring each other's bodies, finding out what ticks. Then there was…well the last time had been the best. They weren't in a rush and the effects of liquor had faded.

He took his time with her, committing each part of her body to memory. It had taken time, more time than he'd devoted to any other girl he'd ever been with, but the face she made when she orgasm-ed was something to be cherished.

By four AM, they were both worn out, and the proverbial morning after had loomed over him. When he felt her try to leave, he grabbed her, not ready to face tomorrow just yet.

Glancing at the clock, he cursed. It was almost 9AM. "Shit." He cursed a bit loudly. He groaned and sat up. He had to be at the races by 11:30.

Grabbing a pair of sweat pants, he made his way downstairs, the remnants of last night greeting him. The house was trashed. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but they had too much to do and little to zero time to do it.

Mia was already downstairs in the kitchen, washing dishes, fighting through her hangover with coffee and Advil.

Vince had appeared half dead as he took out the trash. No one was speaking, no one was smiling. Yep, typical Saturday morning.

* * *

Letty arose around 9:15, her body still trying to wake up. Her body felt like she'd gotten hit by a brick wall, and her legs were sore from being stretched to its limits. Knowing the cause of that soreness caused her to smile.

She didn't bother to look for her underwear, but grabbed Dom's wife beater from last night, and a pair of boxers from his dresser.

The house was probably trashed, and she needed to go downstairs and help Mia. After washing her face and gargling, she made her way downstairs.

Vince and Dom were walking around like zombies, picking up trash and beer bottles, while Mia was preparing breakfast.

"Go get dressed girl." Letty yawned to her, shoving her slightly with her hip. "Papa Adrian is racing today and he'll kill us if we're late."

Mia sighed in gratitude before heading back up the stairs.

Dom and Vince took out the last bits of trash, and reappeared just in time for Letty to give them the same instructions. "Go, I got this." She told them.

Vince didn't need to be told twice, heading to the basement to get himself ready. Dom lingered back for a moment, leaning against the door frame, watching her cook.

"So good, it's got you makin' breakfast." He taunted with a deep laugh, not being able to resist the urge to tease her.

Letty rolled her eyes. "Big talk Toretto, but I wouldn't start polishing myself up for an Oscar just yet."

The banter they exchanged made her relax. She was cautious in her approach this morning, not knowing how to navigate in new territory. But he'd made it easy for her to just enjoy the moment.

She didn't hear Dom approach her, as she concentrated on cooking. He snaked his hands around her hips, pulling her against his morning wood.

"I could change your mind." Dom whispered kissing her shoulder. "We've got time."

Letty felt her body spike up 20 degrees as he kissed the hollow of her neck, right behind her ear. "Your dad is racing today. You wouldn't miss that for anything."

"If I were ever willing to make an exception, it'd be today." Dom said with a small chuckle. Letty felt butterflies in her stomach, but tried to play it cool. Well, as cool as a 16 year old could.

"Go. Mia'll be downstairs any second and if you don't go get ready, Adrian will have my ass." Letty told him, lightly elbowing him.

Dom was about to object when he heard Mia coming back downstairs. He groaned and moved back, giving his sister a slight kiss as she entered the kitchen upon his leaving.

Mia walked over to Letty, a bit more refreshed. "Where did you disappear to last night? I got so drunk; I passed out in my dad's room. Vince was knocked out with some bimbo on the couch."

"I passed out in the basement." Letty lied quickly. Mia shrugged, not thinking too much of it. "I guess everybody ended up in someone else's bed."

Letty hid her smile, focusing on setting the table. "You have no idea, girl. No idea."

* * *

Dom drove down the highway in his favorite glasses, feeling better than he had in years. Everything seemed to be falling into place. He was king of the streets, Mia wasn't pregnant, his dad was going to win the cup, and to top it off- he'd just had the best night of his life.

Dom had driven Vince, since he claimed he still needed some sleep. Mia sat passenger side letting music fill her ears as the wind whipped her hair.

Letty had insisted she stay behind and finish cleaning up, and she'd meet up there later. Being pressed for time, they didn't argue.

Doing 100 on the highway felt like nothing to him. He loved the speed, the adrenaline, the feeling of weightlessness.

Pulling into the overall crowded track, he made his way to the VIP section and parked. It wasn't hard to spot his father in the mist.

Everyone had crowded his car, lining up to check out the body work, the engine-speculating on what it would do on the track.

Dom greeted his father who was all suited up. "Ready for this old man?" he asked. Adrian eyed his son carefully.

"Huh..." was all Adrian said, and gave an all-knowing chuckle. Dom eyed him curiously. Was it something he said?

"What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded lightly.

Adrian lifted a brow in Toretto fashion. "So you've finally gotten your cherry burst, huh hijo?"

Chuckling, Dom shook his head. "Pop, I haven't been a virgin in a while."

"Of course not, you're a Toretto. I'm still praying I'm alive when some pueto comes for Mia's. Shotgun's already loaded." Adriane laughed. "But that's not the cherry I was talking about."

Confusion, then understanding came to light. Dom began to speak, but Adrian cut him off. "Be good to her Dominic-_digno de ella_."

Not needing to elaborate more, he agreed silently. He should have known- He may have been able to hide it from Vince and Mia, but his father knew him all too well.

Mia approached, interrupting their quiet chat as hugged her father, begging him to be careful.

Adrian kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Don't worry mija. I'll be as safe as I can going 100 mi/per hour."

Vince had wandered off to no doubt get food and nurse himself with a beer. It was too early to be mingling.

An announcer called all racers to the pit, and Adrian hugged his son and kissed his daughter.

"Try not to beat them too bad, Pop." Dom joked lightly. Mia smiled, laughing. "I want the trophy so I can put all my accessories in it."

Adrian rolled his eyes, nodding to their requests before going to the pit.

* * *

The races were going wild. Dom, Mia, and Vince had watched his dad smoke the preliminaries- they had the best seats, closest to the track. He finished first, and was a shoe-in for the cup. He had steady competition, but he always ended up in the lead.

"I'm going to go get some food." Mia said after the races. Vince dug into his pockets and broke out a bill. "Grab me somethin' too, would ya?"

"You just ate two hamburgers!" Mia objected, her eyes almost bulging out. Vince shrugged, as Dom glanced toward her. "Get me something to drink."

Mia rolled her eyes at the thought of being their personal waitress, but on the other hand, Vince had just mistakenly given her a 50$ bill, so she wasn't going to do too much complaining.

"Hurry up, the finals are in one minute." Dom ordered as she walked off.

Mia walked up to the vendors, seeing some familiar hair right in front of her. "Letty, when did you get here?"

Letty turned over her shoulder, in recognition. "About ten minutes ago. I saw your dad win the preliminaries. He's a beast."

Mia smiled proudly. "I know right? Sometimes having a racer dad is cool."

"And other times?" Letty asked, looking at her over the rim of her glasses. Mia laughed. "I'd rather not say. Come on, Let's order some food and get back."

The food took a longer than expected, so the girls had to run back to the pit. What they saw had stolen their breath.

In the final turn, some tool had clipped Arian's bumper, and he went flying into the guard wall. And explosion happened not to soon afterwards. Dom was already running onto the track, screaming- Vince trying to follow, fighting through the crowd of technicians and EMTs.

"NO!" Mia screamed, dropping her food. She prepared to run to help her father, when more gas exploded from the track.

Letty had grabbed her waist, pulling her back from flying tires. "No, Mia! No!" Letty screamed, pulling her back out of the line of fire.

Mia crumpled into tears, screaming as Letty hugged her close. She could feel her tears soak into her hair, smelt the smoke and rubber of the track. Her father was gone.

* * *

**_Three days later..._**

As the funeral service came to an end, the cemetery became eerie with fog. _Not much of a damn funeral since his body was basically ash._ Dom recalled bitterly.

It gave a small comfort that the whole community showed up to pay their respects to Adrian Toretto. He was a father to not just him and Mia, but anybody who need a father. The National Pro Stock Racing Corp. paid for the services, and most of the racing community had shown. Much Respect.

The minister said a final closing prayer and the services were dismissed.

Mia was being comforted by Vince. She hadn't been able to stop crying. He held her hand, let her rest her head on his shoulder.

Vince walked up to him as Letty took over mourning support, a grieved expression on his peach fuzzed face. "Hey brother. You alright?"

Dom shook his head. "No." Glancing back at his father's flower filled grave, he spoke. "I'm going to go take a drive."

He gave Mia a parting shot, seeing Letty pull her into a sisterly embrace. Her eyes met with Dom. She nodded, indicating she had this. Mia would have been pissed if she saw the way he pulled off the side of the road.

* * *

A week went by and Dom still refused to talk to anyone. All he did was work on the charger. It was totaled, but he refused to let anyone scrap it. He could still smell the burnt rubber, the fumes, and his father's faint cologne.

From a distance, he knew Mia was somewhere in a corner crying, Vince trying to be a supportive shoulder in his stead. He couldn't comfort his sister because of his own pain-his fury, his grief.

"Hey Bubba." A voice called.

Dom came from under the car, seeing Letty for the time since the funeral. She hadn't crowded him or been the doting girlfriend. She'd respected his wishes that he hadn't wanted to be fucking bothered.

He didn't return the greeting, simply watched her. Dressed in a skin tight wife beater, a pair of cargo pants and timberlands, with a mock motorcycle jacket she stood there, waiting.

For what he wasn't sure- but it was a bit assuring to know that she was the one person that wasn't going anywhere. He could curse, yell, throw shit, and she'd still be right there.

"Get your ass up, we're leaving." She told him while crossing her arms. Dom stood, never taking his eyes off her.

Without so much as two words, He got up, putting on his jacket. Letty hit the button on the wall panel, opening the garage to see brand new Nissan skyline GTR sitting in his driveway.

Dom gripped his wrench.

Letty smirked. "Get in." She instructed as she got into the driver's seat. Dom got in, still not bothering to ask where they were going or where she got the car.

She whipped out of the driveway, doing 90 as they headed towards the freeway. They rode in comfortable silence, both listening to the easy transition of the gears, the acceleration, watching the sunset.

She drove them boldly through the beach, Dom watched her handle the sandy terrain with ease as she pulled back towards the road.

After a while, they ended up at the tracks. They sat in the bleachers together, Letty allowing him to feel whatever pain or joy, or rage for the place.

"I dropped out of school when I was eighteen to help my dad with the bills. My father bust his ass at the garage and he'd make me bust mine. We barely got by as is. And now, as if God thought I needed another challenge, he's gone. My family is gone." Dom spoke, watching the tracks, replaying the accident over and over in his mind.

"God isn't punishing' you Dom. You still got Mia, Vince…and me. We'll figure it out." Letty promised him, leaning her head on his shoulders. Shoulders that always had to bear the weight of the world.

They left the tracks soon after. Letty had gone in to pay for gas, and Dom waited at the pump. He heard the engine of a new sports car pull into the gas station.

Kenny Linder had gotten out of the vehicle, girls lined up by his side, him grinning, laughing it up. No remorse, no guilt. No pain.

Something came over Dom in that moment. He walked up to Kenny, not paying attention to the girls or admirers.

"You got some nerve." Dom growled, his eyes blaring.

Kenny looked him up and down, frowning. "Look kid, I don't know you, but if you put one scratch on my car, that's your ass."

Something snapped. Dom swung the wrench across Kenny's face, knocking him to the ground. A wrench he hadn't realized he'd been hold the entire time-his father's wrench.

Linder cursed and hollered, the sight of blood got his adrenaline running. Dom didn't hear the sounds of hard wrench metal hitting Kenny's face, hit after hit. He didn't hear the screams, or Linder begging him to stop.

All he could remember was his father-being burned alive on the tracks not two miles from where they were now.

Sirens could be heard, and people were shouting. Noise. Nothing registered.

"DOM!" A voice screamed throughout the crowd, bringing him out of him his haze.

Dom dropped his arm, a sudden heaviness weighed it down, one he'd never felt before. His vision cleared and he saw Kenny's face, bloodied and broken. His body not moving.

He glanced to his right to see Letty, holding his arm back, the wrench still firmly in her grasp. She appeared scared, empathetic, furious.

The cops soon arrived and took him off to a holding cell.

His last vision before pulling off, was seeing Letty holding the wrench staring down at Kenny's body as they applied the stretcher.

EOC

* * *

A/Like I said, it's my favorite, but LONG. It could have easily been two, but as previously mentioned, there are only 12 chapters for this story- no more, no less.

Spanish words I use: culo-bum, pendejo-stupid (like bastard), digno de ella-worthy of her.

R&R-or something. Thanks for the reviews again.


	4. 2nd Quarter Mile: Misaligned

A/N: I cannot **THANK YOU** ENOUGH! For all the love and support of this story. Like I said, I love the reviews (**special** **thanks **to those who do **review faithfully**) but I'm **SO THRILLED** to know that over 1614+ people have read my story in the past 4 days! That's 403 people a day, and 16 people an hour. I know those stats may be small for some writers, but it's HUGE for me! I also want to thank everyone who's done as I requested by adding me to a follow/like/favorite lists-those numbers are also climbing every day! I'm so humbled, thank you again.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Fast and Furious franchise.

**2****nd** Quarter Mile, Chapter 4: _Misaligned_

**Letters From LOPAC- First 6 months of imprisonment.**

* * *

Letty,

_Make sure Mia pays the cable and light bill._

_Tell Vince to go ahead and pay the mortgage. I have some extra money in the usual spot- and call in the order for the grocery store. I forgot again._

Dom.

* * *

Dom,

_Well it's good to hear from you too asshole. Mia restocked the fridge and we already paid the mortgage. The inventory order was put in 3 days ago, but we need some money to pay for a new generator..._

_Vince said the garage is getting decent business, and I finally got hired at Harry's so we'll have some steady money coming in. _

_How are you holding up? You're missed man. Hector told me he'd look out for us- he said he had some street races coming up and it's a 2g buy in. I almost have enough- I sold my car, this burro tried to rip me off but I got 1500$ for it, and I get paid this Friday. With any luck, they'll be racing for pinks._

_Wish me luck._

_Letty._

* * *

Letty,

_YOU SOLD YOUR CAR?! The hell is wrong with you?! And you better not be street racing! I'll kill Hector! I swear to GOD I WILL. I had enough money to pay the mortgage, and VINCE was supposed to handle the rest. I'll tell my guy Reese to fix the generator again. I'm serious Letty. I don't want you racing. Having a second job is too much. Working at the garage is enough, let alone Harry's. Tell Vince to call me. _

_Don't piss me off!_

_Dom._

* * *

_Dom,_

_You don't own me! I wanted another job. What I do with my car is my damn business. Besides i can beat these bums, man! We need the money to keep up the store, house and garage. Family sticks together._

_You're missed-still._

_Letty._

* * *

Letty,

_You're Not family! None of this is really your business so please, just do what the hell I ask you to do and nothin' else. _

Dom.

* * *

_Letty,_

_What I said was fucked up. I'm sorry. If you hadn't of taken that wrench from my hands, I'd probably be serving a life sentence. You've done so much already and I appreciate it, but I don't want you giving up your life for me. And I damn sure don't want you racing. Vince said you haven't been over to the house in weeks and Mia has already called, bitching me out. I miss hearing from you. _

_Dom,_

_P.S. Don't up-shift so early in the final quarter mile._

* * *

Dom,

_They unofficially announced Julian dead today-still no body, but they found his dog tags. Mom let me keep them. She wants to move to Mexico._

_I won a few races and the generator is fixed. Mortgage is paid for the next six months and I put flowers on Arian's grave...Mia wasn't up to it. _

_Letty._

* * *

_Letty,_

_Marry me._

_Dom._

* * *

Dom didn't look back as the Lopac prison facility gates closed behind him. He wasn't Going back. Come hell or high water.

He looked around, slightly pissed. Vince was supposed to be here. As if to adhere his demand, Vince pulled up, two hot babes in the car and music blaring.

"Welcome home brother!" Vince greeted from the convertible.

"That's more like it." Dom mumbled to himself with a smirk.

* * *

The welcome home party was wild. Vince introduced Dom to the new guys who showed up. "This is Leon, Jesse." Vince said, taking a swig of beer.

"What's going on brother!" Leon greeted him with a corona. Dom liked him already.

The kid Jesse was a bit thwacked but after some quick computer talk, Dom knew he'd be an asset more than a liability.

Mia parted the crowd and gave her brother the biggest hug. Dom held her as she cried, knowing it was hard on her.

"We're having a huge dinner tomorrow, so get your whore fever over now." Mia told him, wiping away her tears.

" No disrespect sister, but He just got out! We don't want to kill the guy!" Leon joked about her culinary skills.

Dom would have punched him for that remark but Mia rolled her eyes and punched him in the shoulder, Vince snickered.

Clearly they had bonded while he was in the pin. So he let it go.

Vince proved to be his best friend by inviting the Tran sisters and the new girls from the Hills.

The party was still going on around 2 in the morning. Dom made his way to the garage to get a bit of air.

The garage light was open, and there was a figure in the shadows, bent over an engine, singing under her breath. A pair of tan dickies and striped boxers.

Dom could hear the clicking of the wrench tightening the bolts on the car. He watched as Letty emerged from underneath the hood. She wore a gray sports bra, her hair pulled all to one side, Greece under her fingernails.

After the first six months of his imprisonment, he hadn't heard from her. Mainly because he never sent that last letter, and refused any more outside communication.

They had a thing before his dad died and now, he wasn't sure where they stood. Almost like it was tainted.

Letty wiped her hands with a work towel and closed the hood of the car. Feeling there was someone watching her, she glanced over her shoulder. Raising a brow she muttered without much enthusiasm, "Welcome home."

"You don't sound too thrilled." Dom replied, folding his arms.

"Believe me; I'm all tickled inside." Letty grumbled, before throwing the rag into dirty wash bin.

"Why aren't you inside?" Dom asked lamely for lack of anything better to say. He'd never been one for over the top declarations of love, and neither had she.

Letty smirked. "As irresistible as booze and skanks are, Mr. Pearson will be back for his car in the morning, and I had to finish some work on it. Besides... they're here for you, not me."

He glanced to see the extra tags on her neck, his eyes met hers. "Sorry to hear about Julian."

Letty tried shrugging it off but Dom saw right through the facade. She was hurt over the news.

"I…I always believed he was dead, I was holding on for my mom...but knowing is a bitch." Letty said quietly.

Dom nodded in understanding. " Yeah, it is. Appreciate the flowers." He'd visited his father's grave just this afternoon. He'd known she'd been there.

Without much else to say she sighed. "No problem. I'm gonna take off. I'll let you get back to your skank fiesta."

She made her way past him, only for Dom to grab her waist, stopping her mid stride.

"You' were always my girl, you know that." Dom revealed, his timber voice cutting down her inner defenses with one blow.

For a moment, Letty paused, before her skepticism come in. Dom usually only talked like this when he was drunk. He was always staking his claim with her when he was drunk. Usually that claim didn't mean shit in the morning or the next morning, or the morning after that.

"Yeah, I know." she answered automatically, her emotions on the brink of exploding. She didn't feel like entertaining the bullshit, but she hadn't wanted a fight with Dominic on his first night out.

"I know shit has been absolutely cluster fucked ever since..." He tried to find the words, holding her with both arms now.

"You didn't write me back for a year and a half." Letty said. "Not one damn word. I must be that _special_."

She pushed his hands away from her hips, not wanting to think about her body's natural unbalance without them there. She went to her locker to change her clothes.

Dom took a letter out of his back pocket and fiddled with it. It was the one he never sent- the one asking her to marry him. She had no idea how special she was.

He knew he'd fucked things up with her. And giving her the letter would only add fuel to the flames. He slid it back into his pocket.

Letty then approached Dom, handing him a wad of cash. "That's for the new parts order. Harry's just waiting for your signature. Take care."

And just like that…he'd let her go.

* * *

**_-One Month Later-_**

Letty awoke from the guest room which had been deemed hers since she was 15. It was around 10AM, knowing everyone else was already up, she knew she'd have the shower to herself.

It had been quite an adjustment after Adrian died-especially with Dom gone. There wasn't any ancient latina music playing, no TV going downstairs, or Mia yelling at her father's off key singing. The house was quiet for a while.

But some things had started to fall back into place. The smell of breakfast had resurrected itself, causing Vince, Jesse, and Leon to wake from the dead. Knowing Mia, she probably made them go wash up first.

Grabbing her underwear, some sweat pants, and a wife beater, she headed down the hall to the shower.

Stripping of her night shirt, she tuned the radio to Adrian's Hispanic classic station. The shower felt amazing after a rough night in the garage bent over car after car for hours on end.

Despite her best intentions, her mind wondered to Dom. He'd been distant ever since his home coming party.

She supposed it was for the best. Things had been….tense since then. Their conversations were arguments, or nothing at all. She mostly worked the late shifts so she wouldn't have to hang around him all day.

Honestly, she didn't know what the hell was his problem. His army of skanks were at the house every weekend, after every race, leaving their putrid odor for the whole of California. Neither of them acknowledged the night they slept together, or his false proclamations of love.

She could blame their recent feud on Vince, Jesse, and Leon. The three stooges revealed to Dom that she'd gotten so drunk at a party, that she'd given the whole racing crowd a table dance. In her defense, it wasn't like she'd planned it. She was drunk, and depressed, and missing Dom.

But the look in his eyes that afternoon, had told her all she needed to know. He'd stared at her like she had every disease known to man, before going off about how her transformation had really gone to her head-on the brink of calling her a slut.

What did he expect? She'd been partying with him and his crew since she was 15, she lost her virginity when she was in Mexico. Not to anyone significant. It was a beach party and she'd gotten drunk and the boy was good looking. Never mind that he was 19 and she'd lied about her age.

She began to sing with the radio, shaving her legs and other fem areas. "_Cada vez que lo oigo hablar, me tiembian hasta las piemas, yel Corazon igual…."_

She wasn't going to be the next Jennifer Lopez, but she could carry a tune. Continuing to sing, she finished showering, slinging the shower curtain open, only to come face to face with the devil himself…Dom.

A normal girl would scream at her privacy being evaded. A normal girl would have at least covered up. Letty considered herself a cut above the rest.

She watched Dom watch her, his stare freely roaming over her entire body in all its glory. Nothing except her dog tags nestled between her breasts. Letty waited another second before she crossed her arms.

"See something you like?" she snapped, gaining his attention.

"Not lately." He muttered, smirking at her as if she were a child.

"Blow me." Letty sneered. None the less, she reached for a towel, feeling rather uncomfortable in her own skin.

"Been there, done that, moved on." He said casually. Grabbing the tooth paste, he didn't spare her another glance as he left the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Clearly she'd misread his interest. He didn't find her attractive, he found her…amusing. For some reason, that cut her deep. She should have known that their one night together hadn't meant shit either. A pity fuck, for the girl with the everlasting crush.

'_Fuck him_.' Letty thought to herself. She knew she wasn't as girly as Mia, but she did have a great body, and hadn't been insecure about it….until about 10 seconds ago.

* * *

Dom sighed as he lay on his bed, hands crossed beneath his head. Something was wrong. Since he'd been out, he'd partied, gotten drunk, fucked nameless girls, bullshitted, and ran the garage.

But the feeling wasn't the same. It wasn't till he walked in on Letty this morning, that he recognized what was off. _They_ were off. It took the will of a God not to bend her over the sink- to play it off, due to his pride.

Every night in Lopac, he dreamed about the way he could best himself when it came fucking her. He missed her body, more than anything he remembers. After he'd gotten out, he hadn't made a move to fix their delicate relationship, or whatever the hell they chose to call it.

He knew he should-he wanted to. But every time he tried, he discovers something new. Something that pisses him off. Something that reminds him that life had continued while he was gone.

He knew he told her that he didn't want her to put her life on hold for him. He lied. He wanted her to wait, just like he had to wait, because he honestly didn't think that there was anyone more worthy of her-not the way he would be. And for her to search, would be pointless.

More than anything, he missed his friend. The friend he'd come to love and respect. The friend who was always on his side, no matter what the risks. Lately, they had been misaligned. An experience that was new and uncomfortable for both of them.

They tip toed around each other at house, barely spoke at parties, and did nothing but fight at Sunday dinners. One fight had gotten so bad, that Letty had went to spend the night with her mother's house.

He never did thank Teresa for signing for temporary guardianship of Mia; saving her from the pain of foster care. Something he knew was only possible because of Letty.

She'd done so much for him, and he wanted her to know that it didn't go unnoticed. He wanted her to know…

'_Fuck it.' _Dom thought to himself as he rose from the bed. It was time for work. Jesse and Leon were already there, because they had to do inventory.

Work would help him figure out whatever it was that was blocking the bad romance that was him and Letty. Cause sitting here wasn't getting him any damn where.

* * *

The garage was doing heavy business this morning. Letty had arrived with Vince, removing her shades as she finished her smart water. Vince had gotten his assignment from Dom and had already gotten to work

She always needed a moment before she entered the garage, mentally preparing herself for the shit storm that was her and Dom. Like clockwork, they got into the stupidest of fights over nothing-just a way to blow off emotional steam from the things that they didn't say to each other.

"Letty, you got number 26-the van." Dom assigned as he came to the doorway to the garage. "I gotta pick up a part." She nodded as he got into his car, and sped off.

Walking into to the garage she made her way to her station. Suddenly, Letty stopped dead in her tracks. That van. She knew that van anywhere. There was a slight dent in the side panel, like last time. The left side view mirror still cracked.

"It got dropped off early this morning. Standard tune-up." Jesse added, as if to reassure her of something. He drank from his soda, and watched her carefully.

Vince eyed Letty as she just gawked at the van, lost in her own world. _Something's not right._ He thought. Letty's face was void of any expression-blank. Like she had been shot with a horse tranquilizer

Leon came up from behind and smacked her lightly on her ass. "Get to work baby girl!" he joked, but not prepared for what happened next.

Like a match that had been struck to a fuel tank, Letty growled, as she flipped him over her shoulder, grabbing a blow torch that lay on her station counter, putting it within inches of his balls, while her arm leaned heavily on his neck.

"Whoa! Whoa!" Vince shouted as Jessie's eyes grew big as saucers. "What the fuck?"

"HEY", Leon shouted in astonishment. "Jeez baby girl, it was a joke. I'm sorry! I'm SORRY!"

Letty's mind raced and spun, she saw the worry in Leon's innocent gaze, his fear. She'd totally just flipped her shit.

Easing up, she dropped the blow torch as she stood to her feet. Running her hands through her hair, she took a step back and took in a deep breath, before exhaling.

Jesse took a tentative step to towards her, careful not to touch her. "Letty, babe?"

Letty looked at them all wildly- like a wounded and rancorous animal. Leon was still in shock, but he was also bewildered. Vince looked protective and concerned. Jesse looked plain scared and helpless. But they were all confused.

Impulsively, she couldn't breathe. Feeling like she was drowning, she quickly left the garage.

Common sense pleaded with her to get a grip. The garage was overbooked and underhand with mechanics. She couldn't afford to leave them hanging, but she needed to get some air. She didn't spare of look back as all the guys called her name at the same time.

She ran as far as her feet would carry her. Before she knew it, she heading for the ocean.

* * *

When she got back home, it was around 1Am. Everyone had gone to bed because they had an early day of work tomorrow, due to her absence. She'd had over 50 missed calls and 90 texts. Half of both were from Mia, others from Vince, Jesse, and Leon. Only one text from Dom, simply asking, _'Why the hell aren't you at work?' _Needless to mention, she hadn't responded to any of them.

Letty entered the kitchen to see Dom there, with a Corona, in one hand and his cell phone on the table.

She pretended not to pay him any attention as she heated up her dinner, compliments of Mia. She was starving.

"Want to tell me what the hell that was about?" Dom said casually, as he folded his arms. Letty didn't meet his scrutinizing gaze.

"No." Letty said simply, grabbing her food, and sitting down to eat.

"While you were off bullshitting, I had to fix the other three cars that were on your line up." He told her, pissed off even more as she shrugged.

"I'll pay you for it. I needed to take a day." She reasoned with an expression of nonchalance.

Dom was about to say more, then thought better of it. Fuck it. If she wanted to keep secrets, then that was her own damn business. He didn't feel like arguing.

"Don't miss work again." He warned, and left her alone.

EOC

* * *

Trivia: Michelle Rodriguez actually does sing karaoke.

A/N: R&R…or like, follow, or add. Thanks again for everyone's interest. I cannot express how happy it makes me. This may chapter may have upset some people, because it seems like all they do is fight. I like the **2nd Quarter** chapters because we get to see the development of characters after Lopac. This chapter may be the shortest chapter in the story- I figured we could all use a break after chapter three was so long.

-R.


	5. 2nd Quarter Mile: 7:15AM

A/N:**_ Thank you for the REVIEWS, THE ADDS, AND THE FREAKING FOLLOWS! You all are so amazing. I was so apprehensive about posting this story, convinced no one would read it. But now, I've got Red Bull wings. Thanks a million over._**

**I do truly apologize** if I misspelled _Lompoc, Adrian, grease_ or any other movie reference. I'm not perfect, and I find it pretty annoying that I have to go back and check behind a function (auto-correct) that's _supposed_ to be helpful.

BUT don't be afraid to tell me if something isn't right. Much obliged to the reviewers who have enough conviction to speak up. Your courage doesn't go unnoticed. A lot of people get offended when someone tells them they're wrong-I'm not like thatK. If I'm wrong, I will admit it, if I'm right, I'll prove it. Either way, thank you.

**On another note**: Someone made a reference about my_** timeline**_. Firstly, I'd like to point out that it's a fan fiction, not the bible, so just try to enjoy reading it. I know for a fact that everything I put into these chapters are not from that time frame (like in chapter three, using Disturbed's _Down with the Sickness _which was released in 2000, but the scene itself took place in '97).

HOWEVER, in reference to the question, _"…was J. Lo even singing in the 90's?":_

-The lyrics being sung by Letty are from the song _'Bidi Bidi Bom Bom'_-produced/released in 1994, which won song of the year.

-Selena died in 1995.

-Jennifer Lopez's movie of _Selena_ came out in 1997

-Jennifer Lopez's debut album (which I have) _On the 6_, was released in 1999.

-If you're following my story, Letty is 18 at the time of the shower, given that she was 16 when Dom had went to prison for 2 years, and 15 when they first met.

- The events so far, have happened before the first movie (2001), so that gives us a time span over 5 years, three of which have already passed,

If Letty is 18 at the time of the shower that means the year is 1999, which would also be the same year that Jennifer Lopez's first album came out-what a coincidence!

**THEREFORE** to answer the question-YES, Jennifer Lopez _was_ singing at that time, and yes, it is very possible for Letty to be singing either version of the song. So whichever way you look at it, my timeline is spot on, mate. But as I said, it takes courage. Thanks for the review and I really appreciate the head's up (please don't take it as an attack).

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Fast and Furious-If I did, it would be called _Dom and Letty Vs. The World._

2nd Quarter Mile Chapter 5: **7: 15AM**

* * *

_**36 hours later…**_

The races were over crowded tonight. More so than usual. There was barely any place to walk, let alone drive.

It seemed everyone had come, breaking their neck to see Dom race again for the first time, and recklessly throwing their pink slips in the air to get the chance to compete.

The team pulled up, getting out of their rides like superstars. Dom dressed in a white shirt that stretched across his muscles like a second skin, black jeans and boots to match. Vince wasn't dressed too different, sporting his favorite red t-shirt, black rocker pants and black rocker boots. Leon and Jesse were in their usual getup-Leon in a black wife beater and blue jeans, Jessie rocking an all-black grunge outfit with the nail polish and beanie to match. To the crowd, they looked like the damn apocalypse of racing.

Vince checked the crowd, leering at all the beautiful women. Leon came up beside him. "Usual bet?"

"First five women and one cat in the sack. Double points if she's bi-racial." Vince confirmed.

Dom just smiled. Those two played the same game at every party and or race- 100 bucks to whoever could score the most numbers and or panties. But neither of them ever scored more than 1 number, and one panty, so he didn't know why the stakes were so high.

He took in a breath of comfort. Things were shit back home, even more so at the garage. Bills were piling up, things needed to be fixed, his tab at _Harry's_ was racking up and new installments needed to be put in.

But here-here none of that mattered. Here his team came together, supporting each other, laughing, having a good time, ready to kick ass if needed. They all loved the streets.

Even Letty, who had been detached for the past day or so, wasn't immune to the energy of the street racing.

_Yeah, this is what we needed._ Dom thought. He purposely hadn't gone to the races since he'd been released, because he wanted to fix things at home. Be re-acclimated to his environment. August had been a pretty trying month, but he was finally back.

Hector and Edwin approached him, welcoming him back as the team mingled and dispersed. "The money hasn't been the same since you've been gone."

"Yeah, and you know your boy Zoom, got gunned down on his way back from a run." Edwin informed him.

Dom swore under his breath. He'd told Zoom to leave the drug scene alone. "So tell me about these new clowns?" he indicated to the guy standing next to an apple red supra.

Edwin followed his gaze and chuckled. "That's Smoke, but the one you should look out for is Street. Been takin' over since you've disappeared."

Hector shrugged. "He's decent." Edwin lightly punched him in the shoulder. "Give credit where it's due man! He sure as hell took your money!"

Dom returned his gaze to Hector, slightly surprised."You raced?"

Lifting a shoulder, Hector stuttered a bit. "I-I thought I had a chance…you know, with you being gone and all."

That caused Dom to genuinely laugh. He'd missed this. The banter and the adrenaline. That moment of 10 seconds or less.

"So where can I check out this 'Street' character." Dom asked them. Hector searched the crowd, before a frown appeared.

Edwin saw as well and laughed a bit. "Oh shit, it's on. Dom, he's over there puttin' the mack on Letty."

Immediately, Dom scanned the crowd, finding some buster talking it up to his girl. He was 6.1, low cut wavy hair, decent lean muscular build, and standing next to an ivory polished,1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30. Mia was right next to Letty, looking a bit smitten herself.

Ah shit.

* * *

Letty had to admit, it felt good to be back on the scene again. She could have gone back when Dom had first gotten out, but even she could admit it wasn't the same without him. _He_ was that energy, that excitement. She'd missed his arrogance on the streets.

When they arrived, skanks crowded him like there was no tomorrow. She rolled her eyes and she and Mia parted ways from the guys, disappearing into the crowd.

Tonight, she wasn't dressed particularly special, but she had attempted to look decent. She rocked her favorite red racer's jacket, an invisible bra that made her breasts look amazing, and black baggy cargo pants. Her hair was a wavy Latina mess.

Mia was more refined, wearing a white halter and blue jean shorts, her long hair pull back into a slick Mo hawked ponytail.

They looked good. They looked…happy.

"So, I got something to tell you." Mia said to her. They walked through the crowds so no one would eavesdrop on their conversation.

Letty watched her movements for a moment. She was fidgeting. "Out with it Mi."

"I….me and Jordan..." Mia trying to find the words but failing.

Letty's eyes grew huge with acknowledgement. "WHEN?"

"Last night." Mia told her bashfully. Letty smirked. "Well?" she waited for her to fill in the details.

"It's not like I planned it or anything." Mia rambled quickly. "but I needed someone to talk to and you seemed to be going through your own shit…"

That made Letty feel like crap. Yeah, ever since the garage, she hadn't been in the mood to talk, because all they would _want_ to talk about was what happened at the garage.

But that still that gave her no right to alienate her best friend. "I'm sorry Mi. I really am." She apologized.

Mia waved it off. "Don't worry about it."

"But just because I wasn't there, doesn't mean you give it up to the first sucker who gives you his shoulder to cry on." Letty scolded.

Rolling her eyes, Mia laughed. "It wasn't like that. We were just discussing our problems and we fell asleep…I made the first move, not him."

Laughing, Letty nodded. Of course Mia made the first move. She was a Toretto, after all.

"So, do I hear wedding bells in your future?" she joked lightly. They took a break from walking, leaning against a random car.

Mia shook her head. "He's heading to Dartmouth in two weeks. And besides, I like our relationship the way it is. I want something more."

"More?" Letty asked, a bit confused. More than marriage? What was more than that?

"I want something like you and Dom." Mia answered softly.

Letty hesitated, thinking about what she said. Before she could respond, she was interrupted.

"You're Letty right?" a man asked.

Letty did a quick sweep of him- He appeared to be Latino, about 6.1 low cut waves, handsome face, nice teeth, decent muscular build underneath the clothing, which consisted of a Hendrix t-shirt, and navy denim jeans. She had to admit, he had her curiosity.

"Who's asking?" Letty replied, raising her brow.

He laughed. It was a nice sound, relaxed. "I just thought I'd like to know whose lovely ass is on my car."

Letty checked out the ride she and Mia were leaning against. The ivory 1970 Oldsmobile 442 W-30 sat polished, reflecting everyone's image as they passed. _Sweet ride._ She thought. If he had her curiosity before, he definitely had her attention now.

"You're Street, right?" Mia asked, watching the exchange between the two.

He nodded. "Yeah. I haven't seen you around here before. You new?"

Letty and Mia exchanged a look before laughing. "Yeah, something like that." Mia said, trying to muster her giggle.

Street smiled, before returning his full attention back to Letty. "I know you're not. I saw you race a couple of times. Pretty impressive. Stole my heart, to be honest."

Letty smirked, raising an arched brow. "Look, I hate to shoot you down, but…"

Street gave an exaggerated grip of the heart. "Ah, I've been working up the nerve to talk to you for a while. _no em enderrocar favor!_"

Letty released a small grin when she heard the dialect of Spanish. "_Eres de Cataluña."_

Street licked his lips and nodded. "Yeah, on my father's side. My mother is from Los Angeles."

"You plan on racing tonight?" She asked him, her eyes roaming over his beautiful car. _I wonder…_

"No." Street objected to both her asked and unasked questions. He sent her a meaningful stare and smirked, "But I do plan on winning."

Mia watched, a bit shocked, as Letty laughed at her expression and his answer. "Really."

"Well," He eyed Letty appreciatively. "If you're not racing, I might stand a chance in hell."

"Don't count on it." A low voice commanded.

* * *

Letty and Mia, immediately drew their attention to Dom, who stood right behind Street. He did not look to be in a gaming mood.

Mia took a step away from his car, trying to pull Letty with her. Letty yanked her hand away. She wasn't going anywhere-she wanted to see this.

Street turned his attention to Dom, and squared off respectively. "Can I help you?" he asked. He'd heard tales of some street racing king named 'Dominic Toretto'. His name was always half whispered like he was some God. He didn't look any more godly than the car he drove here in.

"I only came to wish you luck on the race tonight." Dom said with a smirk. Circling past him, he put a protective arm around her waist, pulling her away from Street and his car.

"…because you don't have a chance in hell with _this_." He finished and gave slight nod of indication to Letty, who frowned at his possessiveness.

Street eyed Letty. "_Vostè no ha d'anar_. Just give the word."

Letty felt touched that he was willing to face off with Dom just to spend more time with her. It felt good to be special. But she knew Dom would destroy his pretty face, and he was too young for those kind of scars. Besides. A jealous Dom had sparked that warm feeling of pride she kept hidden.

"Nice car." Was all she said, and she let Dom pull her away into the crowd, Mia right behind them.

The races ended with a slight surprise. It was no surprise that Dom won. It _was_ however interesting that he almost lost to an avenging Street. When Letty had seen him pull up to the starting line, he called out to her. _"Me'n vaig a dedicar aquesta victòria a vostè!"_

Which pissed Dom off righteously.

Needless to say, that sparked another argument at the house, in which they'd separated for the entire night. Letty consumed herself in beer and video games, while Dom consumed himself with beer and skanks.

* * *

With a groan, Letty rolled herself out of bed, eyeing her digital clock. It was 7:15AM and too early to be up to do anything-even taking a piss. The rejuvenated sun was already half way up in the sky, the morning after effects wearing in, as the alcohol wore off.

She groggily made her way to the hall bathroom, only be slightly shoved on her shoulder. "Jeez Mia." She croaked.

"Watch it." an unfamiliar voice copped out with a bit of an attitude.

If Letty wasn't up then, she was definitely up now. She paused, her hand slightly on the bathroom door handle as she witnessed a girl walking back into Dom's room with a bottle of water. The girl shut the door behind her.

Making sure she wasn't hallucinating, she checked the time on the wall. The old flower clock read 7:15. It was 7:15, and that skank was drinking her bottled water, walking around her house, going back to Dom's room.

"OH HELL NO!" Letty erupted, before walking back toward his room, kicking the door open with more force than necessary.

Dom was instantly jogged from his sleep, checking his surroundings, ready to kill whoever intruded. What he saw was Letty storming over to the foot of the bed, her basketball shorts riding her hips, sports bra jiggling her breasts. If it hadn't been so early in the damn morning, he'd be turned on…Ah hell, he was still turned on. If annoyed as well.

"Who is she?!" Letty demanded to know, pointing to his right. Dom was barely functional, glancing at the Asian chick in his bed, doing a double take before frowning.

"Fuck, I don't know." He groaned tiredly. He was slightly annoyed at the situation, hella pissed to be woken up, and downright torn at Letty's unsettled and underlying broken expression.

"When I'm done with this _cabrona,_ I'm gonna make you remember!" Letty seethed before turning her full attention to the Asian who had gotten out of the bed, and was currently trying to creep past.

"Where you goin' bitch!?" Letty screamed, pushing her back on the bed.

"Nowhere!" the girl screamed as she felt her face being attack by what felt like bricks.

"Cover your face girl!" Leon comically called out from the hallway.

Vince Jesse and Mia were right there with him, not willing to help the situation. They heard the crack of Letty's voice and had come running. As far as the Asian was concerned, she was as good as dead.

"Stick and move Let! _Stick and move_!" Jesse called out. He and Leon shared a fist pound.

Dom glared at them as he tried to pull Letty off of her. "V, get her out of here!" He yelled, meaning the poor girl who was currently bleeding all over his sheets.

Vince quickly came in and grabbed the girl by the wrist, pulling her out of the line of fire, while Dom held back a screaming Letty, cursing up a storm in Spanish.

"Bitch!" The Asian screamed, glaring back at them. Letty jumped-kicked both feet into the air, making a powerful connecting blow to her face. The girl fell back, screaming about her nose.

"Damn!" Vince cursed, stumbling to get his balance and hers.

"NOW V!" Dom barked, and that's when Leon came to help, smirking at the situation. Mia and Jesse gathered the girl's clothes and quickly left them alone.

"What the hell!" Dom yelled, dropping Letty to the floor. She caught her balance, turning to give him a resounding punch to the face.

"Who the fuck is she?!" Letty demanded to know.

"Dammit, I don't know who she is!" Dom shouted, running a hand over his jaw.

He was confused by the interrogation. She was some random racer chick. Like a million others that had come and gone. What he didn't understand, was Letty's sudden interest in this one.

"If she's nobody, then what is she still doing here?" Letty interrogated. She couldn't believe him. She knew they weren't together. She'd trained herself a long time ago, not to give a damn about the skanks who thought they had a chance in hell.

But it was 7:15, and that bitch was still there in _her man's _bed. Yes, she claimed Dom as her own, the moment they'd slept together. And since then, no other skank had been able take that title. Until 7:15 this morning. And _that _is what caused her to snap.

"She's nobody Letty." Dom tried to explain again. She really _was _nobody. He didn't remember her name, when he'd met her, or when they made it to his bedroom. Hell, he barely remembered the sex-she wasn't a memorable person.

Letty crossed her arms, her defenses completely up. "It didn't look that way to me."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Dom snapped, tired of talking in circles. Enough with the damn riddles! It was too early for this shit.

"It's 7:15." Letty informed him quietly.

Pausing to think about what she said, he swore. He knew he'd fucked up majorly when he forgot to wake the braud next to him. Other than Letty, no woman had stayed in his bed past 5AM. That was the rule, and everyone knew it. A rule he'd never broken, or come close to breaking-till now.

"She overslept, and I forgot to wake her." Dom admitted quietly.

Not having anything else to say to him, Letty just left. He saw the disbelief in her eyes, her misery.

Sitting on his bed, he put the weight of his thoughts in his hands. His father's last words rang in his mind. _Ser digno de ella…_

Loving Letty was supposed to be as painless as shifting through the gears. Lord knows, it was natural enough. But here he was, failing and he could hardly believe it.

* * *

Later that night, Mia had gotten worried when Letty hadn't joined them for dinner. The rest of team had told her to leave it alone, but ignored the suggestion, and came knocking at her door.

"Let?" Mia called from the other side of the door. When she got no response, she used a butter knife to pick the lock, letting herself in.

Letty paused from her movements to eye Mia with an annoyed expression, signifying to the door. "Really?" she snapped.

"You should have answered me." Mia smoothly reasoned, then looked at her bed. "Where are you going?"

Letty didn't answer her, just resumed packing. Most of her clothes were already packed in duffel bags, posted by the closet.

"Dammit Letty, will you look at me?" Mia asked, "LOOK AT ME!" she hollered until Letty complied.

"Just…let me help you." Mia offered desperately. She wasn't going to lose her best friend because of her dumbass brother.

She'd known about them sleeping together the night before her father died. She'd lied that day about passing out in her father's room. Her suspicions had been confirmed the moment Letty had come downstairs that morning, dressed in her brother's clothes, unable to hide the glow that only new love could give.

But she had chosen to stay out of it. She chose to let them battle through their feeling for each other alone. She knew Dom and Letty well enough to see they didn't need a cheerleader-they needed time. Well, time was up.

Letty paused, hearing her best friend's genuine distress on her behalf. She brought her gaze to meet Mia's, unable to form the words.

"Please?" Mia begged, her voice cracked as emotions took over.

She'd been in some pretty shitty situations, but nothing was as heartbreaking as seeing her best friend, her sister, begging her to not to leave, and she not having the strength to stay. It was like she had to leave-or live and die this way.

Unshed tears glistened in Letty's eyes as she simply shook her head. Mia knew at that moment, that there was nothing she could say or do. She extended her arms, openly and lovingly. Like she had been since the beginning.

Letty pulled her into a taut sisterly embrace, two tears coming down her face.

* * *

_**And on the third day….**_

Mia spotted Letty coming down the stairs and got another plate from the cupboard. "Hey girl, took you long enough. I saved some bacon for ya."

Letty spotted Dom at the table talking to Vince and shook her head. "Thanks, not hungry. I've got some business across town."

Mia crossed her arms, suspiciously. "That's the second time this week. What are you up to?"

"Shopping." Letty shot back mockingly, hinting for her drop it. Vince glanced up in her direction, "You need a ride?"

Normally, she wouldn't mind Vince's company. In fact, she missed it a great deal. But since Dom had come back, Vince was playing appointed babysitter again, keeping tabs on her and Mia, instead just being a friend.

"Nah. I got one." Letty assured, and took off out the front door.

Once out of ear shot, Mia slammed her cup down, and put her hand on her hip, staring at Dom expectantly.

"Well?" She said when he glanced at her. "Aren't you the least bit curious as to where the hell she's going or what she's doing?"

"Especially since she flipped out on Leon the other day." Vince recalled. "You should have seen her Dom. Somethin' ain't right."

Dom continued to eat his breakfast, trying not to think about it. "She's not a child, and quite frankly, I don't care."

"Bullshit." Vince scoffed, taking a sip of his juice. "You two are driving me insane. And since you've gotten caught with your pants down, Letty hasn't said shit to me. Not one word."

"And?" Dom snapped.

"And my ass! If you wanna fuck up your relationship with Letty, fine. But I've known her just as long as you have." Vince fortified, clearly upset.

Dom sighed, wiping a hand over his face. "I've known her long enough to know when to invest my time and when to stay out of it."

Most of the time, Letty was a hellhound, and a beautiful one. He liked her fiery spirit and soft eyes. But lately, he couldn't get her to shut up for five minutes to listen.

Mia rolled her eyes. "Well I guess time behind bars has thrown off your radar."

Dom cut her a warning glare, but Mia didn't back down. "She worked two jobs that paid shit, dropped out of school to help out around here, and she sold her fucking car. You don't think she deserves a little of your attention?"

"What do you want from me Mia?! She doesn't want to talk to me!" Dom damn near shouted in frustration. "And quite frankly, I'm in no mood for her attitude and or a fight."

"Hell, _I_ don't want to talk to you sometimes!" Mia screeched. "One day she's gonna walk out of here Dom, and then what?!" she asked before storming out of the kitchen.

Vince eyed his childhood friend. He could see past his nonchalant bullshit straight to his pain. "What happened with you two?"

Dom sighed. "We slept together."

Vince almost choked on his drink. "WHAT?!" He hissed. True, Letty had turned into a hottie in the past two years. Nice rack, nice butt and a take no prisoners attitude.

But Dom knew Letty's feelings for him. Feelings that he swore he'd never manipulate because he didn't want to hurt her.

Dom nodded. "We didn't plan on it. And after my dad died…" he didn't go on because he knew Vince understood. The timing was really screwed.

"She's lost someone too, brother. And she didn't get a nice funeral to attend or a shoulder to cry on like you did. Remember that." Vince said.

Dom cursed. He knew Vince was right. She hadn't really been the same since her brother's death. It was probably killing her inside.

"Have you been taking smart pills?" Dom half joked. Vince smirked. "_Lifetime_ movies, man."

Dom sighed. "I fucked up V, and she's not just anybody. She's Letty."

Vince finished up his food. "Well make it right."

"I wish I knew how." He said, sipping his coffee. Whatever way it came, it wasn't going to be easy. That word just wasn't in their vocabulary.

"You'll think of something." Vince encouraged, finishing his orange juice. "I know a place where we always come up with the best ideas."

"Garage." The both answered in unison. Dom let out a small laugh, but a full smile never appeared.

"Come on," Vince suggested while rising. "Let's whistle while we work."

* * *

Street pulled up to 10880 Wilshire Blvd, only to discover it was a military air force base. "You know, when you asked me for a ride, I was hoping it would be to a place a little less ominous."

Letty laughed. "Well at least it's different from the last place you ended up."

During the ride over, Street had seen that she was upset. She looked tired, and worn down. Nothing like the hellion he'd seen racing. So he chatted her up with embarrassing stories from his past, hoping to shed a little light. He was pleased that it had worked.

"So what are we doing here?" He asked, checking out the tanks in the distance.

"I have some paperwork that I need to sign." Letty told him, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"You serve?" Street asked, surprised. Letty was a complete, lovely Latina mystery.

"My brother did." Letty corrected, her voice lowering a bit, hoping he wouldn't ask her to elaborate.

He didn't. Instead, Street put a hand on her knee, innocent, supportive. "Sorry to hear it."

Letty nodded in gratitude. "Yeah, me too. Anyway, thanks for the ride, I already got one back."

Street smirked, shaking his head. "I can't believe that bastard was right. I really don't have a chance in hell with you, do I?"

Letty spared him a smile. Street nodded, knowing what that meant. "Well _potser la propera vida, suposo." _He spoke quietly.

She sighed, put on her aviators. With a genuine smile, she told him, "Maybe." She stepped out of the car, and onto the base, never looking back.

* * *

Letty had arrived at the garage for her afternoon shift, taking over as the boys took a break. It felt good to work again, even if that wretched van still loomed in the distance. She hadn't touched it, and no one had made her.

She was wiping down the tires of a Honda, when a cough broke the silence. To her right, was a man. Fat, bald, a bit scraggly.

Letty stood to greet him, then paused. The man's face was scarred from his past, his right eye slightly grayed. It was him. The owner of the piece of shit van. She took a step back, as she witnessed his recognition of who she was.

He smiled, only moving slightly to block the exit. Letty's senses were working overtime as she watched his every move.

"I remember you." He said cockily. "I never forget a face. My, how you've grown up."

Letty sneered, backing up slightly more as he advanced. She was fully aware of her odds, but she didn't want to minimize them by being reckless.

"I've been looking for you." He cackled out, before his eyes grew dark and his crooked smile disappeared completely. "For the little cunt that damn near made me blind!"

He lunged for her, but Letty sidestepped him, sending him a solid right cross. She kicked him in his balls, and he fell like paper. "BITCH!" he groaned, his voice hoarse.

"You piece of shit!" she hollered, grabbing her tool box and knocking it across his face.

* * *

A man screamed, getting the attention of everyone who was outside.

From down the street at the beach, Dom, Vince, Leon and Jesse shared a look. A man had walked past them not too long ago. A man, who they now assumed, was there to pick up his car…or in this case, a van.

Bolting at the same time, all four of them ran back towards the garage.

* * *

Letty was currently beating the life out of the man's van with her crowbar.

"I'm going to bury you in this fucking piece of shit van!" She hollered, as she busted out the all windows. When she'd had her fill of that, she made her way over to the man's legs, hitting him harder the more he begged her to stop.

"Did you stop?!" Letty shouted, "DID YOU STOP?!"

The man managed to get away long enough stand, quickly grabbing the tail end of Letty's hair. "You still got some fight in you." He heaved.

She screamed, sending her elbow into his jaw. His eyes grew red as blood spurted from his mouth. He back slapped her to the hood of the van- causing Letty to use her hands to break the force of the blow.

"Big mistake." Dom threatened from the shadows. He was on the man in seconds, and continued to beat the man down into the concrete floor. The fat bastard hadn't been able to put up a defense-not against Dom.

Dom beat the asshole until he was unconscious. Leon grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hey, man, the cops are here."

"Good. Tell them what happened." Dom breathed as he stood, his rage still high. A combination of rage and confusion made him even more pissed.

"Vince is already talking to them." Leon explained.

Jesse ran to Dom, so emotionally messed up, and helpless, he couldn't stand it. "Letty…"he breathed, said but nothing more, lacking the ability to elaborate.

Dom didn't need him to explain. He looked around; and saw that she had disappeared. Heading to the back room, he found her, bare knuckles, punching her locker.

He examined that her hands were starting to bleed. He came beside her, grabbing her wrist in mid swing.

Her wild and enraged gaze flew to him and she tried to yank her arm back, but Dom didn't budge. "It's over." He reassured to her.

Letty just stared at him for moment before choked sobs began to take over her. Dom pulled her to him fiercely as she cried full-fledged tears, screams of frustration and agony drowned out by his chest.

Pulling her over to an old raggedy couch, he held her as she cried, simply comforting her. "It's over baby…it's over." He whispered rubbing his hands up and down her back.

Whatever that asshole did, whatever Leon did two days ago, it was more than circumstantial. He'd get to the bottom of this, and he'd make that motherfucker pay for whatever it is he did.

EOC.

* * *

Trivia: Street (a name I borrowed from S.W.A.T.) is from Catalonia, and he was speaking Catalan (a dialect or derivative of Spanish). For those who don't know where that is, it's in the country Spain. The capital of Catalonia is _Barcelona_!

_Me'n vaig a dedicar aquesta victòria a vostè (i'm dedicating this win to you)_

potser la propera vida, suposo. (maybe next lifetime).

_no em enderrocar favor (please don't shoot me down)._

_Vostè no ha d'anar_. (you don't have to go.)

A/N: Again, much obliged to everyone who's reading/follow/reviewing/favoriting. I really am happy to hear it. And just to let you know, I've been reading some of my reviewers stories. And I will say that most of them have stolen my heart. Please don't be put off on my reply to the timeline-I was just setting the record straight.


	6. 2nd Quarter Mile: Revelations

A/N: I cannot believe this 3000+ views. Love it, and I love you. Period. Thank you so much, thank you for reading, thank you for liking, following, riding, and dying with this story. This chapter was inspired by Aaliyah's song**, '**_**I don't Wanna…'**_ The song isn't in the fiction, but when I wrote this chapter, it seemed so perfect for Dom and Letty's situation.

Let's keep in mind that Dom is only 20 years old at the time, so I'm giving him _some_ characteristics of a 20 year old man. Trust me, when I say, I'm a huge DOM&LETTY fan like no other, so have a little faith that everything will work itself out-I mean, we brought Michelle Rodriguez back from the dead and they dedicated a whole movie to Letty. Anything is possible!

-R.

_P.S. I promise not to leave this chapter on a cliff hanger._

Disclaimer: I don't own Fast and Furious….or _Dom and Letty VS. The Decepticons._

2nd Quarter mile Chapter 6: **_Revelations_**

* * *

**_Later That Night…._**

After all the chaos had died down, everyone was exhausted. Now they were all gathered in the kitchen, finishing up dinner, which for the second time, Letty had missed. Jesse had informed Mia of what went on at the garage, inspiring sheer panic and rage.

"Go talk to her. NOW." Mia demanded, taking Dom's plate before he'd finished his food. "I'm not kidding Dom, get out there!" she pointed to the mini garage, where they knew she was hiding.

When Leon had brought her home, Letty hadn't spoken a word. Thinking it was best to leave her be, he left her to her own devices. When Mia later asked about Letty, she'd found her in the garage, working, and that's where she'd been for the past 6 hours.

After seeing similar looks in everyone else's eyes, he sighed. "Alright." He stood, throwing the napkin on the table.

Everyone waited till the side screen door closed before they exhaled. Mia grabbed the pile of dishes, carelessly dropping them to the sink. The loud crack of glass broke the sound barrier in an otherwise quiet room.

She leaned against the sink, her hands gripping the edge like a vice. Vince rubbed her shoulder, soothingly, as she let out frustrated tears.

"Excuse me." She whispered, and hastily left the room.

When they heard a door slam, Vince sighed, dragging his palms over his face. "This day is so fucked!" Quiet fell upon them again.

"Did you hear what that fucker said when the cops took him?" Leon asked after a fashion. His eyes darted between Vince and Jesse.

"Y-yeah, he kept screamin' some shit like_… 'I didn't break her, I didn't BREAK her!_'" Jesse stuttered out, and took a sip of his beer.

Vince sneered, "Yeah, the fuckin' whack job was bein' a smart-ass. Probably talkin' about her face."

Leon thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "Nah man. I think he meant..." he gestured absently, "_her._ Like her spirit or somethin'. I dunno."

"Like a horse." Jesse blurted out.

"…the fuck you say kid?" Vince growled. Jesse usually said the first thing that came into his mind, and normally, it was harmless. But now wasn't the time.

"W-well, I was watchin' animal planet." Jesse hurriedly tried to explain. "Wild horses are resilient, headstrong. When domesticating them, they use the term _'break' _like, breakin' their spirit so they'll behave."

Leon wiggled a finger, pointing to Jesse's explanation. "Exactly. He said he never broke her. How do you break a woman?"

"Cheatin' usually works." Jesse suggested.

Vince shook his head. "Nah. Does Letty look like she'd sleep with something like that?"

"A fight?" Leon said aloud, but then dismissed it. Letty looked for a reason to fight. The girl beat down some chick for oversleeping two hours!

Glancing at the stairwell, Vince told them both, very seriously. "Whatever it is, keep your assumptions to yourself, for now. I don't want Mia upset."

"Agreed." Leon and Jesse said in unison. They sat at the table, drinking beers, praying Dom would rise to the occasion and save the fucking day. Because the sidekicks were out of ideas.

* * *

Letty slid from under the car, rubbing her wrist. It still hurt from time to time since the crash. Seeing the sun set, made her aware that time was no longer relevant. It slipped away. She didn't feel the ache of working for six hours straight, she was numb to it all.

The garage door opened. Letty expected it to be Leon, or Vince coming to check up on her, but it was Dom.

After that small shock, she slid back under the car before they made eye contact, pretending to fix something. It was very hard, seeing as she had fixed EVERYTHING.

'_Damn'_ she cursed. She didn't want to face him. She wasn't ready. Apparently, the universe thought otherwise.

She felt two strong grips on her thighs before she was pulled from under the car.

Dom squatted in front of her, letting his arms rest on his knees, just staring. Letty pretended to be irritated. "Look man-" "Shut up." He cut her off, not willing to hear anything unnecessary.

Letty looked at him as if he were crazy. Dom was completely serious.

"You know we're better than this-always have been." He told her.

Sitting up, Letty's brows furrowed together skeptically "Really."

"Don't do that." Dom said tiredly. When he reached the garage, he'd made a vow not to get mad, not to raise his voice. And she wasn't going to make him break that vow.

"Do what?" Letty snapped.

Dom rose, crossing his arms a bit, as he answered, "Don't act like we're not we're not good together."

Letty sighed, but rose as well, throwing the socket wrench into the toolbox. "Maybe we're not as good as you think. Maybe there's someone else."

"If that were the case, you wouldn't be beating girls to the floor at 7:15 in the morning." Dom countered. "If that were true, you could look me in the eye."

"A habit I plan on breaking, right now." Letty said staring straight into his eyes this time, before she began to walk off.

"Letty," Dom grabbed her by the arm. "…we've always been able to talk." His voice was soft, low. He wasn't trying to pick an argument. He cared, and her pain was killing him.

Letty heaved a sigh. She knew he was right. They used to tell each other everything. And although much had changed in two years, some things never changed. Like the way her heart still flutters when he looks at her, like this.

"Get in." She told him, indicating towards the car she'd been working on. Dom complied, as she took the driver's seat.

They drove to the Cliffs. It was a scenic place that they used to go, just to find peace. She parked the car, sitting in silence for a while. Dom watched as she appeared hurt-lost- angry.

So what's the story behind this one?" He asked indicating to the car. It was a '74 Plymouth cuda, old school American Muscle, V8 engine. The kind of car they used to fight over.

"It doesn't look familiar to you?" She asked her expression blank as she stared out towards the valley.

Dom checked the car, giving it a good look. Recognition dawned on him. "Oh shit. Is this…?"

"It's Julian's. The military released it to me, after the official documents of his death were signed…after they found his body." She told him, her voice quivering. "They wanted me to uh…to identify his remains, but wouldn't let me see his body though-only his dental records, finger prints, and a sketch artist drawing."

It was then that Letty broke down.

He sat in the car with Letty as she cried, knowing she wouldn't want to be coddled. All he could think of, was how he should have been there with her.

"Remember the first time you and my brother raced?" She whispered.

Dom remembered all too well. "Yeah. One of the greatest nights of my life."

"He let me ride in the back seat. I thought he was so cool." She said, her voice scratchy from tears. She fell silent again. Dom took her hand, squeezing it gently.

"We fought 3 days before he left." She spoke, trying to compose herself. "He didn't want me hanging around the racing crowd. He tried to make me quit the garage."

"You were a smart kid, Letty. He didn't want you getting mixed up in this life. Hell, you dropped out of school."

"I got my GED! Everyone thought I was primping myself to be your little toy! It's like I couldn't breathe without everyone thinking it's to impress you! It really pissed me off."

"Maybe we were just fighting the inevitable. I know I was." They both fell silent that time.

"I'm moving to Mexico with my mother..." Letty revealed softly.

Dom looked out the window. "You weren't going to tell us."

Letty swallowed. "I was planning on telling the team."

"So you weren't going to tell me." Dom concluded, a bit disappointed, but not really surprised by her actions.

She confirmed with a tired sigh. "No. I wasn't. We haven't exactly been the fucking partridge family lately, and ….I figured you wouldn't care."

He understood what she meant. Their feuds had caused not only a rift between them, but the whole family. Mia was barely talking to him, Letty was barely talking to Vince, and Sunday dinners had gone straight to hell.

"Today was going to be my last day at the garage." Letty told him.

Dom nodded. He was in no position to ask her to stay, although his mind screamed at him to do something. No, he'd give her the space to make her own choices. That's what she wanted, independence.

"Come here." He commanded softly. Letty eyed him for a moment before she sighed and shifted till she was seated in his lap; her back resting on his solid chest.

Dom placed a tender kiss on her nape, and wrapped both arms around her. Letty relaxed, leaning her head against his shoulder.

"In Lompoc there wasn't a day that I didn't think about you. You're my trophy, my peace." He murmured into her hair. "Time just stopped."

"I know what you mean." She acknowledged.

"I'm sorry." Dom apologized, resting his head on her shoulder. He didn't have to elaborate on what he was apologizing-he knew she got the message. She knew he was sorry for everything.

Letty touched his skull, giving it a chaste kiss, tears caught in her throat. "I'm sorry too."

* * *

"Tell me a secret. Something you've never told anyone." Letty whispered as they lay watching the sky break dawn.

With a sigh, Dom thought for a moment. Something he'd never told her…There were many things that he'd never mentioned to anyone-but trusting Letty came way too easy.

"I can't remember my mother's face." He revealed. "I think about her when I'm at the beach or whenever I smell Mia's strawberry shampoo. But I can't remember what she looks like…and last night, I couldn't remember her name…scares the shit outta me."

"Malena Toretto." Letty told him after a moment. "Mia told me that she used to always have her hair up in a ponytail with bangs. From the picture I saw, your sister and mom could've been twins, but she has your eyes. Really intense. Your dad said she used to call you 'Bubba'."

Dom smiled, the image of his mother becoming clearer in his mind. "Thank you." He whispered, kissing her neck. It was then he noticed a small braised scar behind her ear. It sure as hell hadn't been there before he went to jail, so it had to be after.

"What happened." Dom asked, touching it gently. Letty eyed him for a moment, her pupils growing weary. Dom looked at her expectantly raising a brow. "A secret for a secret." He rationalized.

Dom watched her fidget for a moment, contemplating on whether or not she should tell him. Whatever it was, he figured it to be more embarrassing than harmful, so he nudged her with his knee. "I'm sure it can't be worse than the time you farted at your 8th grade graduation." he recalled the memory of her telling him that.

Licking her lips, Letty took a breath. "Just after you left, I was walking home past a construction site on 39th. Same route I would always use to hide my car after the street races."

"This fat, sweaty, desperate fuck yanked me by my hair…I got a few good punches in, but it just turned him on even more. He was strong, too strong." She paused for a moment, clearing her throat.

"He threw me into his workers' van." She told him, not elaborating on the rest. She knew Dom could connect the dots himself.

Glancing in his direction, she saw his shock and rage, but when he remained quiet, she continued. "I didn't scream, I didn't cry…I wasn't scared." She said. "I was fucking pissed. Who the fuck did this _vato_ think he was to touch me?! To violate me! I wasn't his, it didn't belong to _him_!"

She paused for a moment, trying to control her emotions. _Don't cry…Don't you fucking dare…._She told herself. No, she wouldn't give that motherfucker the satisfaction of knowing he'd hurt her. She wouldn't cry-not again.

Dom just listened to her stress over the fact of that bastard stole something from her. Something that in that moment belonged to someone else.

_It didn't belong to "him"…_played over in his mind. He knew that two years ago, whatever _it_ was, it had belonged to him alone. And that infuriated him the most.

"There was a brick in his van…I hit him…and I kept on hitting him until I crushed his skull, till my arms gave out. I waited for someone to come and help, but no one came-no one gave a shit." Letty finished with a motion.

So that was it. That was the trigger that sparked this harsher, more aggressive Letty. She'd been raped. And he hadn't been there to protect her.

Dom pulled Letty into an even tighter hug, not caring about her wall. She'd erected it to protect herself from being hurt, but he wouldn't allow it. Not with him. "You should have told me."

"Spare me, Toretto. It happened, it's over." Letty told him with a sigh. "I never thought I'd have to see him again."

"The van." Dom concluded putting the pieces together. "Why the fuck didn't you say something?! I would have…"

"I know Dom." Letty whispered. "That's why I didn't. A piece of me died 2 years ago-and I want to keep it that way."

"No more secrets. From now on, you tell me everything." Dom heatedly ordered.

Letty shrugged. "There's nothing left to tell. That's the only thing I've ever kept from you."

"And it better be the last." Dom warned her, holding her a little tighter. Damn he loved her. He just prayed it was enough for him to keep her trust.

* * *

Sometime after sunrise, they drove back to the Toretto house. Dom and Letty both got out of the car, but Letty didn't make a move towards the house.

Dom paused, turning halfway. "So you're serious." He watched her watch him. Their emotions going on and off their faces.

Looking skyward, Letty swore and walked towards him, falling short one foot. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a necklace. It wasn't anything special to the naked eye, but it was her most treasured possession. It was a silver crossed pendant with small diamonds in it.

Fiddling with it in her hands, she spoke, "It's the Saint Joseph cross-Patron Saint of families. It's been in mine for over 100 years. It's not worth much, but the diamonds are real."

Dom just listened, his eyes on the cross. He'd never known her to be religious, but that just went to show how much he knew, or rather didn't know about the woman in front of him.

"My grandfather gave it to my father and my father gave it to my brother before he served in the war. And Julian left it to me when he deployed. It's said to keep the heart pure." she finished, not bothering to say more.

She didn't need to. Dom knew this was goodbye. Dangling the cross, she waited for him to reach out and accept it. He accepted not only the necklace, but her choice with silence.

"I love you." He admitted as he looked into her eyes, his silently asking her once more to stay-hers pleading with him not to make her.

Nodding to her silent request, he donned her necklace and walked towards the house, not looking back.

He thought he'd give her a moment to think things through. This was Letty-and they couldn't stay away from each other if they tried. Feeling secure that she'd come to her senses, he entered the house and decided to wait casually in the living room.

All he heard was silence, he smirked. The girl was stubborn, he'd give her that. Then he listened as the engine of the Plymouth drive off. But moments ticked by and something not dissimilar of nausea washed over him.

The emotion of loss wasn't new to Dom-but _heartache_ was. Wrath consumed him as he got up and checked the window. The car was gone. Letty was gone. Piercing a hole through the wall, he growled at his own selfish stupidity.

"Never again." He vowed to himself, and went to grab a corona to nurse ego, and drown out the pain of his heart.

* * *

Letty got all the way down to the docks before she screeched to a halt. Banging on the steering wheel, she let out a frustrated scream.

"FUCK!" she yelled through her tears. Shit hurt like hell. Never had Dom ever said he loved her-and she didn't know how she knew, but she did. She knew he was telling the truth. She'd been waiting for him to say that for over 3 damn years.

And more than ever, she wanted so badly to run in his arms and just….just be with him.

But neither of them was ready. Both of them had shit that they needed to deal with, and being with each other wasn't the right move. They were both naïve to think nothing about them had changed in two years-that they could just pick up where they left off.

She loved Dom-that was a fact. But it was also a fact that she didn't entirely trust him or any other man, and she knew why.

Letty released a ragged breath and tried to control herself. She'd allowed herself a pass earlier-to let off a little steam and give herself room to cry. This was the first time she'd ever walked away from Dom…the first time she didn't follow where he led.

The feeling of heartache wasn't new to her. She'd been love sick ever since meeting him. But the emotion of _loss_ was new- and she didn't want to feel it again.

"Never again." She vowed, and shifted the gears, driving off into the streets of Los Angeles.

* * *

The sun was bright as he sat at the kitchen table. But it might as well have been midnight. He had no awareness of time. What the hell did he do wrong? He said three words to her, that he'd never said to another woman in his life. And he didn't just say it for the moment, he _meant_ it! You weren't supposed to walk away after a confession like that. But Letty had, all too easily.

Mia's words echoed in his brain. '_One day she's going to walk out of here Dom, and then what?'_

"You knew, didn't you?" Dom asked as Mia entered the kitchen to make breakfast.

Mia exhaled. She could tell he hadn't slept, and he was on his sixth beer. "Yeah." She spoke quietly.

"And she told you to keep your mouth shut." He assumed. It would be just like Letty to bully Mia into silence. She knew if Mia told him, she'd never get the chance to pack, let own leave. He would have stopped her…he would have….

"No, I made that decision on my own." Mia told him while crossing her arms, void of any sympathy.

When Dom just looked at her, she unfolded her arms and began to take out ingredients. It broke her heart to see the look of betrayal on his face, but he needed to walk through this alone.

"I figured if you were dumb enough to let get away, then you weren't _digno de ella_." She finished, using her father's words. Words Dom thought she hadn't heard.

"Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded to know. He still couldn't fathom why Mia was doing this to him. If anything, he thought he could always count on her to be in his corner-at least where Letty was concerned.

But he was wrong. She wasn't in his corner-she was in Letty's. _Birds of a feather_. He thought angrily, recalling the night that he'd said that to them. Even then, the two plotted against him. He should have known then.

"You never wanted my advice before, and if you had, it should have been on this." Mia told him, pulling something out from the miscellaneous drawer. She showed him the letter. It was the last one he'd wrote, but never sent.

"I found it in the wash over a month ago." Mia explained as she threw it on the table. "She would have said yes, ya know." With that said, she left him to be alone with his miserable self as company as she went to wake up every one else for breakfast.

EOC

* * *

Trivia: Jordanna Brewster's character _'Mia'_ was originally written for Eliza Dushku, but she turned it down. She turned down the role of a lifetime and the chance to bring herself back into the spotlight. #F-ING RETARD! Do you think she would have made a better Mia, though? Eh, probably.

Trivia: Michelle Rodriguez really did drop out of high school and got her GED.

A/N: WOW! We made it through the second quarter mile. I know everyone's like "WHAT THE FRENCH TOAST! I THOUGHT THEY WERE GONNA FIX IT!" Lol, patience people- all good things come, to those who WAIT.

NOTE: I'm not usually one for rape scenarios-ever. Because afterwards, writers always make the victims turn into codependent zombies. I wanted to write a scenario where something would happen, and people could see that not everyone goes to the shrink, or cowers in a corner, unafraid to be touched. Some people do get up and move on. From personal experience, I will attest that there are women out there, who pull up their big girl boots and keep pushing forward-not running from the situation, but facing that it happened, and there is LIFE afterwards. There's nothing wrong with getting help if it doesn't cripple you…but like I said, most writers turn strong characters into whimps. And _my version _of Letty isn't having it.

-R.


	7. 3rd Quarter Mile: Ride or Die

A/N: **Thank you** for the support, and love and reviews! I will always start off with saying this because true gratitude has no limits. I'm happy to announce that the 3rd quarter mile is less fighting, and more loving. I think I've tortured you good folks enough **(sorry**_** I'm a bit late** **on the update**_, but I do gotta pay the bills). BUT this section does hop around, from scenario to scenario, so don't get upset and confused.

NOTE: some viewers were a bit disturbed by the rape scenario. Don't over analyze it-don't dissect it word for word, line by line. The rape was a bridge for them to cross, and their cross to bear. It's _not_ the defining factor in their relationship-they're better than that. Don't turn my characters into whimps! Give them a little more credit (laughs).

Disclaimer: I don't own Fast and Furious.

**3****rd**** Quarter Mile** chapter 7 –_Ride or Die_

* * *

_**9 months later…**_

Mia sighed, looking out the window. She felt so helpless.

Her brother received a letter from the National Pro Stock Racing Corporation. It was some bullshit-non heartfelt apology about the life of their father, and how great of a racer he was. Punch line-they'd banned Dominic Toretto from the tracks for life, due to his conduct with a fellow racer.

Dom had gotten the letter and she'd literally seen him come undone. He'd gone into the garage and manically started beating the life out of everything- especially an old Chevy Buick pick-up truck that belonged to their mother.

She had begged Vince to go talk to him, but Vince declined. "He's grieving. Give him time." he advised.

Leon and Jesse tried to be as scarce as possible when Dom was upset. Everyone worked, ate dinner and got the hell out of dodge.

The house still needed repairs, and they were one mechanic short for the summer rush that was about to hit.

"We need a miracle." Mia sighed, walking out of the kitchen.

Vince heard the engine of a '74 Plymouth. He smirked, knowing who it belonged to. They just may get one.

* * *

Riding up to 1327, Letty sighed as she pulled into the driveway, turning off the engine. It felt damn _good_ to be home. She and her mother had resolved their issues, of how she'd left her daughter to bear the weight of Julian's death alone.

Letty had apologized for making her mother feel like she'd chosen the Toretto's over her own family. But she needed her mom to understand; that the team _was _her family, and she'd made the mistake of abandoning them once-she wouldn't do it again.

She approached the garage with caution, taking off her aviators. It was usually hot today so she wore a skimpy sheer olive wife beater and low riding shorts.

She'd heard all the commotion from the driveway and went to investigate, ready to fight whomever she had to.

What she found broke her resolve and her heart. The garage was a mess. Dom appeared to be in a trance. Similar to the one he was in when Kenny Linder had showed up at the gas station. But his eyes….there was pain there. Real, raw…pain.

Letty glanced to her right to see the letter from the National Pro Stock Racing. But couldn't make out the words from so much grease.

Dom was still working the engine into shambles when she turned to him. "Dom." Letty called.

He was beating the life out of the truck. His mother's old truck. He let out a growl and shattered the front windshield.

"Dom!" She shouted louder, ducking as he swung the led pipe with incredible force.

"DOM!" She roared.

Dom paused, turning to her, his rage radiating off his body. His eyes went blank, as he stared at her like she was a stranger. That shouldn't have been a surprise-she'd been gone for nine months.

Letty knew she had two options. She could pity him, and try to get him to explain his reason for being so reckless-be the consoling girl next door. Or, she could be herself. The bad ass he'd fell in love with.

"You look a bit tired. Why don't we go upstairs and you give me a massage." She offered steadily.

Dom didn't say anything as she grabbed his hand and pulled him through the house, upstairs to his room. It wasn't like she hadn't been there before. In fact, it was like her body had committed it to memory.

Letty knew she wasn't one for wasting time, nor was she shy about her body. It had been two years since she'd been with Dom…but all of her unease drifted away as he watched her undress.

She then undressed him, marveling at the massiveness of Dominic Toretto. What really caught her attention was the pendant necklace she'd given him-her necklace.

Seeing where her new attention was, he said quietly, "I never take it off."

Silently, she led them into the bathroom, where they just stood, under the shower, staring at each other.

Dom grabbed her hips and hoisted her to his waist bringing her face to face with his. "It's going to be okay." She whispered.

Looking into her eyes in that moment, Dom believed her. Without a word, he kissed her. Softly, thoroughly…and begin to do wonders on her body.

* * *

Two hours later, they'd found themselves in a tangle of sheets. Staring at the ceiling, listening to the morning birds. It was only 10 AM.

"I thought you were gone." Dominic said after a fashion. Letty nodded. "I was." She confirmed not giving up any more of an explanation, and he didn't pry.

"They banned me from the tracks, Let." Dom revealed, his voice lower than usual.

Letty recognized his pain, allowing the news to process. He would never be able to avenge his father, race in his honor, and all his dreams of becoming the world's fastest racer was shot.

"When I lost my mother, I thought that was it. Nothing else could be worse." He spoke, knowing she wouldn't interrupt.

Dom continued."…and then my father, my freedom, you…" he trailed off a bit"…now my racing career. So much in two years. Too much shit to deal…"

"You never lost me Dom. I'm right here." She said, grabbing his face in her slender hands as she rolled on top of him. "And you'll find a way." Letty told him with certainty.

Dom squeezed her tight. "You're not leaving."

She frowned at that statement. She didn't like anyone telling her what to do. Even if she was in love with him. "Dom…" she glanced down at him.

He met her gaze. "I can't give you up. I let you walk away once. So arrogant to think your childhood fascination with me would win out in the end. It wasn't till I heard the engine fade away that I understood..." Till he realized what he'd lost. Dom didn't finish the statement out loud.

"We're not the same people we used to be. Everything's changed." Letty told him, quietly reflecting on the past two years. So much of herself was so different from the kid she used to be down the street.

"Letty, some things never change." Dom stressed, indicating the fact by running a hand down her bare spine, resting at the crevice that led to her well-formed ass.

"Enough has." She stressed. "It doesn't matter, now. My mom needed me and I went." In truth, her mom had plenty of family and friends to comfort her in Mexico.

"I need you-stay. I'm not telling you-I'm asking you, begging…" Dom told her softly, giving her a kiss on the forehead.

For a while they were just quiet-both lost in their own worlds.

"I'm not going anywhere." Letty said with ease, closing her eyes. "I'm home."

"Ride or die…" Dom whispered to her as she drifted to sleep.

For the first time in two years, he was finally able to not only sleep, but rest. No nightmares, no headaches…just sleep with the girl he prayed would be by his side forever.

* * *

"What made you come back?" Dom asked as time drifted into the afternoon. They hadn't moved from his bed since they first laid there.

He was currently leaning on his side, running his fingers down the crevice of her chest, all the way to below her navel and slowly back up. Letty could barely concentrate.

She smirked, letting her eyes close, relishing the feeling. "Mia told me, that if I missed her graduation, she'd kill me. Like _Machete_ style."

Dom smirked. Mia had graduated six months early. They'd thrown her a beach party, and grilled out. She must have neglected to mention that to Letty during her phone call. He silently made a note to thank his sister later.

" Tell me a secret." He whispered, feather kissing her neck.

Letty shuddered before she giggled. "I'm ticklish."

Dom smirked, "That's a fact, not a secret, and I've known that since you were 15. I want to know something you've never told anyone. " Recalling her words the day she left.

She sighed, thinking for a moment. "I love you." She whispered. Bringing her eyes to meet his, she told him, "…something I've never told anyone."

He just stared at her for a long minute, before smiling. "Why do I get the feeling, this will be the first and last time I'll hear you say those words?"

She smiled. He knew her so well. "I'm not one for repeating myself." Letty retorted.

Dom gently grabbed the back of her neck and brought her lips to his for a kiss. A kiss that practically took over itself, both getting lost in the sweep of their tongues, the heat of their mingled breath.

"I love you too." He breathed, his forehead resting on hers, his eyes closed. They just lay that way for a while, soaking in each other's words. They'd come so close to losing it. Allowing the world to invade, to bring all its bullshit. But they were back…they were back.

"Your turn." Letty said stroking his head as he lay in the crook of her neck. "Tell me a secret."

Dom groaned, making her smile. She knew he hated being sensitive. He rose a bit, resting his head in his palm, as his arm supported his weight, trapping Letty beneath him.

"A week after you left, I went to the cemetery." Dom revealed. "To visit your brother."

Letty watched him as his expression became hardened as he tried to toughen up. "Why?"

Dom glanced at her, before returning his gaze back to her stomach. "To apologize in person. He told me to look after you, to protect you. And I failed."

Raising her hand to his cheek, she brought his gaze to hers. "Don't." she told him. She didn't want him bearing the weight of her pain. That was unfair to the both of them.

He kissed her palm, not commenting on her objection. "After that, I visited my father and I apologized for breaking my word. Before he died, he made me promise to be worthy of you…and I fucked that up too."

"I shouldn't have left." Letty told him truthfully.

"I shouldn't have let you." Dom countered.

A buzzing sound interrupted their private moment. Dom had been ignoring calls all morning. It was time to face the music.

He reached over Letty, giving her a kiss as he grabbed his phone. Eyeing the text message, he sighed.

_The hell brother! We're sinkin' here! Bring your ass in! -V_

Letty grabbed the phone from him and read the text. "Shit." She swore. "I told you, you should've gone to work."

"I did work. Put in whole half a day's worth." Dom replied casually, with a small wink. Letty blushed a bit before rolling her eyes. "Get up. We've got to go help out."

"_We _are not going anywhere. We ain't leaving this bed." Dom opposed firmly. He'd waited too long, had too many unfulfilled fantasies about the particular Latina in his bed right now. He wasn't ready to share her yet. For the first time ever, he was saying, "Fuck the garage."

And that's exactly what they did.

* * *

_**Two Years Later…**_

"Leon! Pull number 23 from the back!" Dom ordered as he multi-tasked between calls, bills, and repairs.

The past couple of years hadn't exactly been the best. Dom handled it with the calming demeanor he always had. Everyone was working overtime, making less money, but they hadn't complained, for which he was thankful.

"On it!" Leon called, heading to the back.

Letty walked into the office, sweaty and dirty from working since 6 AM. They had over booked appointments, and were now working double time. It was a lot of work, even for her. She grabbed a total work order sheet, crossing three jobs off the list.

Dom barely spared her a glance. "Letty, I need jobs 19 and 42 finished in the next hour." He ordered, not waiting for confirmation before going back to his phone call.

"Whatever you say, boss." Letty grumbled under her breath, she headed back out the door. She felt a grip on her wrist, yanking her back in.

Dom quickly pulled her body to his, giving her a hasty but fiery kiss, sliding his tongue against her bottom lip. Letty barely had time to register the warm feeling that was starting to pool between her legs every time he did that-it was over too soon for her liking.

He broke apart, eyeing her somewhat apologetically, "Thank you." He muttered quietly, before returning to his phone call. "What the hell do you mean the part's not in?!"

Letty rolled her eyes with a light smile, taking that as her cue to get back to work. While working on the two cars she assigned for the next hour, she realized that she and Dom hadn't had a moment's time alone together since she'd gotten back.

Did they have sex? God yes! And it was the best kind too-ravenous. Having worked all day in a garage, then making money at the races, and parties, they barely had the time. So when a day like today happens, they get it in when they can. Doing it on the hood of a Ferrari last week had been the highlight of her month.

She knew money was tight. Dom hadn't said it, but the way he kept over booking the garage, being relentless at the races, she knew what was up. And so did everyone else. No one complained about the work they had to do, they just got it done.

But today was one of the worst. All of these last minute jobs were killing them. For the past two nights, they'd been living in this garage, turning water into wine. They needed a break.

"Guys, I brought take out!" Mia called from the garage entrance. The Hallelujah chorus sang as everything at the garage paused. The clanking of tools could be heard as they marched toward sustenance.

Mia bringing lunch and dinner was the only thing Dom didn't fuss over. There was no point-Mia would certainly read him the riot act, calling him an automotive slave driver.

Usually, everyone just took their share and split, but today it seemed the team wanted to be as far away from the garage as possible; so everyone gathered in the back. Leon and Vince made a makeshift table of an old door on stacked tires. Letty and Jesse grabbed stools and they sat down. Mia went to pull Dom away from work.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm fucking tired." Jesse complained quietly. Letty, Vince and Leon just stared at him. Of all three of them, he had the _least_ amount of work.

"Cyber porn must take a lot out of you." Vince teased. Leon cracked up, giving Vince a pound. Letty just smiled as Jesse frowned, giving them the finger.

Dom had arrived, sitting at the head of the table next to Letty, as Mia put the dinner on the table and sat on the other end by Vince.

"So what we eatin' baby girl?" Leon asked hungrily. Mia smiled, "Indian."

A chorus of groans went around the table. No one liked Indian. Vince glared at Mia. "What? Fat burger went out of business?"

"You could go swallow piston rings, bolts and gears springs with a nice cup of engine grease." She suggested sweetly. Vince shut up.

Dom opened the containers to find out that it _wasn't_ in fact Indian. It was Italian. He smiled at his sister. "Thanks sis."

Mia winked at him as the team laughed, delighted to be served something that wasn't going to have them on the toilet for hours.

After Mia said grace, everyone started to dig into their plates. Jesse paused, looking around the table. Letty glanced in his direction. "What's wrong kid?"

Jesse just shrugged. "I just…it's been like two months since we all had Sunday dinner together…I missed it, ya know?"

Everyone paused, shamefully glancing around the table at each other, before Leon finally cracked. "Aww, you miss us pumpkin?"

They laughed, except Dom. Jesse chuckled, before saying, "Nah, it's not like that. I mean, we work, we race, we party, we sleep. Then we do it all over again. I just missed _this,_ ya know?"

It was quite spectacular to notice that the kid with the shortest attention span, focus in on something so important. Everyone felt touched. Quiet as it was kept, they'd missed it too.

"We've missed you too man." Letty shrugged, sending him a smile. Jesse laughed. "Careful Dom, I've got Letty being all sentimental."

"Blow me." Letty spat back, with false anger.

"She's back." Vince retorted, and everyone laughed some more.

"Announcement time!" Leon called out. Announcement time was what they always said what was new, to the table. Good or bad.

"Dom, you first man. Lay it on us." Vince said, knowing he'd been carrying a lot of stress lately.

Dom put his fork down and sighed. "Cops raided our chop shop connect in Orange County. Apparently, we've been winning too much and Giving them too much attention."

There was a string of curses around the table. "So what now?" Mia asked.

"Up the price of the races." Vince suggested. "Two grand buy in, at least four cars-winner take all."

Dom nodded. It was a start, but it wouldn't last long if they continuously beat every racer that challenged them. They needed something to balance them out.

It was Leon's turn next. "My cousin boosted a cop car last week. And check this-he gave me the radio scanner. I can know any cop's position before a race. No more blind spots." He said proudly.

"Amen to that. I will not be flying through another wall with _Letty the Lethal_ over there." Mia joked.

But Jesse came to her defense. "That shit was epic!" and the boys applauded. Letty rolled her eyes but smiled.

Dom nodded towards Vince. "Your turn."

Vince shrugged. "I thought I'd gotten this redhead pregnant from a month ago. False alarm." His information caused the team to almost choke on their food. Mia eyed him. "WHAT?!"

"I said it was a false alarm!" Vince said again, trying to ease everyone's panic. "What about you? Don't you have something _interesting to share_ with the rest of the class?"

Mia scowled at him and Dom watched her. "You're hiding something." He looked to Letty. "What is it."

Letty held up her hands innocently. "She doesn't tell me shit anymore. Ever since I let it slip about Jordan-"

"By which you STILL aren't forgiven." Mia interrupted, with a brief attitude, before punching Vince in the arm.

"Mia." Dom sent a warning tone for her to spit it out. Mia sighed. "Nothing came of it."

Vince decided to spill the beans. "She got an offer by the owner of _4Play Gentleman's Club._"

"WHAT?!" Dom roared. 4Play was one of the most expensive strip clubs in Los Angeles.

"I turned him down!" Mia defended. Vince snorted. "After keeping his card for a month."

Letty nodded in appreciation. She knew for a fact that you had to be drop dead gorgeous to work there. The owner must have thought Mia pretty special to extend a personal invitation. "Congrats on the offer girl."

Mia smiled at Letty, glad that someone understood. "Thank you!"

"You were going to pass up the opportunity to go to the best school in the state, and 3rd best school in the nation, to be a stripper?!" Dom bellowed, still a bit shocked.

Mia's eyes raised in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Dom's nostrils flared. "Don't play dumb with me. I saw the acceptance letter from Stanford in the trash. Even though you tried to hide it by ripping your name off."

When he saw the letter two months ago, he'd been so proud. After high school, he'd agreed to give her time off because she deserved it, but college was still on the table. He'd been meaning to talk to her about it, but all hell had broken loose not too soon afterwards.

Leon chuckled at the memory of seeing the same letter. "Oh nah, Dom. That wasn't Mia who got accepted. It was Letty."

Letty's eyes grew big as saucers as she kicked him under the table. He promised that he wouldn't say anything! Dom turned to Letty, and she began to fidget under his withering albeit startled, stare.

She just fiddled with her pasta, sending daggers straight for Leon's balls. _Motherfucker._ She thought.

"Let, you got into Stanford?" Mia asked, delightfully surprised. How could she not know this? Hadn't they been living under the same roof for two years?

"Wait," Vince said confused "…don't you gotta be smart to get in there?"

Dom cut him a glare, before turning his attention back to Letty. "She is smart." Despite Letty's best efforts, she blushed.

"But...don't you have to be...I dunno, like _really _smart?" he pressed not knowing how to express his words without sounding like a dick. He thought Letty had dropped out of school.

"She was a candidate for valedictorian in high school before she dropped out." Mia offered, clearing up some confusion. "And she made the _dean's list_ three years in a row."

"Mia!" Letty barked a warning for her to shut it. Mia just raised a brow with a smirk. "An eye for an eye sis." Payback was a bitch.

"Letty a genius, no shit!" Jesse appraised with a smile. "Why didn't you tell us?" Vince asked.

Feeling uncomfortable at all the attention, Letty lifted a shoulder, before she hardened up. "Because there was _nothing_ to tell. I wasn't going to go. I only wanted to see if I could get in."

"So you just filled out that long ass application and wrote that extensive essay on _Da Vinci vs. the Mechanical Mind_ for shits and giggles?" Leon ratted.

The scowl Letty cut Leon made him swallow-hard. "I will fucking kill you, Leon. Swear to God." She threatened. Vince eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know so much about it?"

"Uh… "Leon said refusing to look back at Letty. "…because I let her use my laptop to write it." She'd forgotten to delete it from the recycle bin.

Mia appeared hurt. "And you didn't tell me?"

Not wanting to linger on the subject, Letty warned them all, "Drop it. NOW."

The table grew quiet again. Dom spared each one of them a glance lingering on Letty the longest. She exhaled, knowing that the topic of her and school was far from over.

"No more work on Sundays." Dom declared after a thought. It seemed too much had happened in the past two months- too much for him not to know. They needed family Sundays back. "_Salute Mi Familia_."

Cheers went around the table.

After everyone had gotten back to work, Jesse approached Dom back in the office. "H-hey man, can I talk to you about something?"

Dom raised a brow. This was new. Jesse usually only talked to Leon or Letty. "What's on your mind Einstein."

"Well you know my dad went to jail earlier this year for boostin.'" Jesse said.

Dom sighed. "Jesse, if you thank me one more time for crashing' on my couch-"

Jesse shook his head. "No, no! I was gonna say my cousin's husband is a dispatcher for Mack trucks. He knows the invoices of each one. So I was thinking..."

"You wanna boost a Mack truck." Dom finished. That was it-his salvation-he could feel it. And it was coming from the kid who slept on his couch.

"It was my dad's last idea, before he got caught. I did the math for it. It's pretty simple shit and we got the right amount of people..." Jesse hunched his shoulders, not sure if he was going to get chewed out or laughed at.

Dom folded his arms over his chest. "I'm listening..."

* * *

Later that night, after Dom had closed up shop, drove home. No races tonight. The team just chilled-Sunday tradition.

Vince, Leon and Jesse were all on the couch, debating which movie to watch, while Mia hummed to herself, making them bowls of ice cream.

He made his way upstairs to his bedroom, where Letty was on their bed, removing her boots.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey." he responded simply.

With a huff Letty got up from the bed. "So that's it? You're not going to ride my ass."

"I was planning on you riding me-later." Dom informed her casually, as he took off his worker shirt. "But I thought we agreed no more secrets. So the question is," he continued turning to her, "…when were you going tell me?"

"About the same time you were planning to tell me that we're 30,000$ in the hole." Letty countered, crossing her arms.

Dom just stared in puzzlement for a moment before he acknowledged that she was right. '_Damn…'_ he swore mentally.

"The constant phone calls, late part orders, over time at the shop." She listed, "A 2g buy-in isn't going to cut it. It would need to be at least five to keep us above water. Besides the way we smoke 'em already, there wouldn't be any that could afford us." Letty told him, doing the math in her head.

"Unbelievable." Dom just shook his head in wonder. "All that intellect, and you're wasting your time doing oil changes and tune up jobs with me."

"I don't need a damn piece of paper, to validate me, Dom." She argued. "I know who I am."

"But you had a chance to get the hell out of here! To do something with yourself- but you'd rather stay here with you fucking head in the sand!" He snapped. "Look around, there ain't much goin on!"

Dom refused to believe that this is what she truly wanted; drowning in a river of debt beside him, going nowhere fast.

"Just because I don't have a degree doesn't mean my life is worthless!" Letty snapped. Calming down a bit, she said " I have everything I need right here."

"I doubt it." Dom said, and went into the bathroom, to have a shower. He closed the door behind him.

Letty fell back on the bed with a frustrated growl. She wanted to punch him. Dom could be such an idiot sometimes. Couldn't he see this is where she _wanted_ to be? If it wasn't by his side, then to hell with it. They'd gone through too much shit, for it to be any other way. She promised she wouldn't leave, and she had no regrets about turning down Stanford. Maybe that's what he needed to hear.

Stripping down to her birthday suit, she went into the bathroom. She'd found Dom under the spray, letting the heat wash away all his stress.

She stepped into the shower, wrapping her arms around his waist, resting her head on his back. "You don't always have to be such a touch guy ya know." She told him quietly.

Dom scoffed, before turning around, meeting her gaze. Cupping her face, his voice timber and mellow. "I don't want you giving up anything. Not for me."

"'_Ride or die'_" she quoted. "I didn't choose to miss out on my dreams. I chose _not_ to leave my family."

"I don't deserve you, you know that?" He asked her, running his hands down her slick body.

"Yes you do." Letty told him. "We deserve each other."

"I've fucked up so much already. I don't want to lose anything else." Dom confessed, tiredly.

Letty nodded, understanding. "You won't. We're in this together-all of us."

"You sure this is what you want?" He asked, meaning the simplistic, next to shit life they currently had.

Letty answered with a passionate and well arousing kiss. Dom took that as a yes.

EOC

* * *

Trivia: The Dom and Letty romance wasn't in the original script for The Fast and the Furious. I guess we're a little luckier than we thought!

A/N: Thank for reading- this one of my lighter and a bit funnier chapters. I'm glad for so many reviews and posts and comments (criticizing or complimenting). Special thanks to the viewers who reviewed, who actually UNDERSTAND the characters that I'm attempting to create! I'm so glad somebody is riding the wave right!

-R.


	8. 3rd Quarter Mile: OUAT in Mexico

A/N: **Thank you for the reviews!** I'm so glad everyone enjoyed the previous chapter. I have nothing to comment on! I just wanted to say thank you! I'm sorry these past couple of chapters have been slow coming. I'm working on a million things! Lol. This chapter takes place 3 months After the last chapter (End of the first Movie).Again,** SORRY IT'S LATE!** This particular chapter had to be rewritten a little, and between work and everything, I haven't gotten the chance to post it! Again, forgive me!

Disclaimer: I don't own Fast and Furious

3rd Quarter Mile-Chapter 8:_ Once Upon a time in Mexico…_

* * *

_**After the last truck heist…**_

Letty hated hospitals. Period. The doctors across the border were a bit friendlier, and didn't ask as many questions, but other than that-no exception.

Apparently, she had three bruised ribs and a dislocated finger. When they readjusted it, she'd kicked one of the male orderlies. Shit hurt!

Leon entered her room, phone in hand, looking grief stricken. Assuming the worst, Letty rose to her feet, ready for him to hit her with the news.

"That was Dom. He's on his way." Leon informed. He rested against the window, leaning his head against the glass.

"Mia told me that the Brian was a cop." Letty offered, recalling her anger at reading the text. But she couldn't be too upset. Brian had ultimately saved Vince's life, from what Mia had said.

"So V was right. We should've never of trusted that buster." Leon's voice hardened, as he clutched his cell phone.

"Any word on Jesse? He's gonna flip when he finds out we did this without him." She asked. They had heard from Jesse in two damn days. After Johnny Tran smoked him at Race Wars, he'd gone underground.

"Jesse's dead baby girl." He choked out a bit.

A wave hit her. "What?" She gasped, her ribs feeling like she'd been hit with bricks. Jesse dead? How, When? No, it wasn't possible. Letty crossed her arms refusing to believe it.

"Tran shot him. He died in Dom's arms." Leon finished the story, loose tears escaping his eyes. Out of all them, Jesse was too young- too young to die.

Letty breathed in sharply, despite the excruciating pain in her ribs. She willed herself not to cry, but it was hard. Vince was in the hospital, Jesse was dead, and Brian had come in like a snake, ripping their family apart.

"Come on, let's get out of here." She said, grabbing her jacket.

Leon stared at her for a moment. "That's it?! I just told you that Jesse is DEAD, and you don't give a _fuck!"_

Rage engulfed her. Letty's eyes blazed with fury of his accusation. "Fuck you, I do care! He was family and I loved him, but right now, we're barely across the border and and last time I checked, Mexico wasn't a place of non-extradition. We gotta go."

He shook his head. "I can't baby girl. I can't." He whispered. Letty paused, literally watching him hang on by a thread. "Not this coyote."

She embraced him in a hug. Leon hugged her back, careful of her ribs. "You take care of yourself girl."

Letty nodded, her emotions running haywire. "Same here, man."

They separated. Leon handed her the keys to his car, but Letty shook her head. "They'll be looking for it. Scrap it." She advised him, and left the hospital room.

* * *

**A week later…**

Letty showered, washing away the sweat and stress from the day. Working in her uncle's garage had been a bit of a strain, given her condition, but he hadn't asked any questions, and she was grateful. While blow drying her hair, she whipped an egg over her ribs and forehead, cracking it and setting it in a glass. She'd need all the help she could get tonight.

Cops had already informed the Mexican patrol to be on the lookout for Dom. Since his last message at the hospital, she assumed he was avoiding her for good reason. Cops meant they had to be invisible-invisible meant they needed money-and fast.

Tonight, the legend that is _Ortiz_ was coming back. Every summer in Mexico up until she turned 19, she'd come down here. At 16, she'd won her first race, and she'd been wanting to defend her title ever since.

Dressed in a black leather bra, and leather pants to match with her favorite boots, she was ready. The heat in Mexico was so different then back home. You could burn standing outside on your front porch, or you could suffocate from all the dust and wind. Wrapping her hair in slick pony tail, she slid on her favorite aviators.

Walking out the room, she paused, seeing her uncle block the front exit, arms crossed. "He wouldn't want you racing." Milo told her.

Now, whether he meant her father or her brother, she wasn't sure. Either way, she knew the answer. "No, he wouldn't." Letty agreed.

She waited. She'd gotten into plenty of stand-offs with her uncle. All of which she'd lost. But nothing was getting in her way tonight. Not one damn thing.

Milo chuckled a surrender, tossing her a set of keys. She caught them in mid-air, checking them out. They were his keys- to a Gunmetal 1967 GT 500-also popularly known as "Eleanor". Letty couldn't hide her smile. "Seriously?"

Milo smirked. "Give 'em hell." He advised, before heading back towards the kitchen.

Letty grinned all the way to the car. She'd give them hell alright. They'd beg on their knees to keep their cars. Tonight was a blackout. Anything was for sale and everything was up for grabs. And she wanted it all.

* * *

Dom had made a few anonymous calls to a few amigos. It was on for tonight. They said it was going to be a massive bloodbath at the races.

He'd been ducking and dodging the cops for over a week. He was low on patience, and even lower on money. Leon had called from the states, reporting that he'd helped Vince get loose from the police arrest in the hospital, claiming he was going under for a while.

Not that Dom could blame him. Shit was fucked up. With the heists, with V, with Jesse…and his thoughts went back to his girl. Letty. He had no idea where she was, and they hadn't been in contact since Leon said she'd left the hospital.

He knew she had family down here, but where they were, he wasn't sure. He parked his car. The Supra had seen enough. Getting out, he surveyed the area. He was somewhere by a warehouse, turned into condos.

"Dom," A calm voice greeted.

Dom turned to see a lean Asian, snacking on a bag of chips. "Han. Glad to see you've given up smoking."

Han shrugged. "I've got a million ways to die-but cancer ain't one."

They embraced in a hug. Han then checked out his ride, then Dom. "You, _and_ your car look like shit."

"Well I was hoping we could change that." Dom alluded. Han nodded, chewing on his lays. "Come on up. I got some clothes left over from the last time you crashed and burned."

As Dom showered, he thought about his next move. He couldn't stay in Mexico for long, but he couldn't _leave_ Mexico without any money. The cops would be looking all over for him. He dressed, dark grey wife beater with black jeans-his necklace hanging just over his heart.

Han handed him a beer-Corona. "There's a race going on tonight. They say the Mexican legend is supposed to appear. Whoever the hell that is."

"What are the stakes?" Dom asked. Han smiled. "Get this. It's a blackout. Everyone down here is racing for money, pink slips, girls-everything. Anything goes."

Dom Smiled. "My kind of race."

* * *

They pulled into the location that was otherwise abandoned. Lights, neon, and cars could be heard. Loud music pumped through the speakers. The cars glittered like wet paint, the racer chasers barely dressed. They were in a middle of the damn desert, with no officials, traffic lights, or regulations around for miles. Perfect place to unleash hell.

"Ah, look. It's already in full swing." Han examined. He sent out a text. Dom saw a figure in the distance, collecting cash. Her curves were enticing, yet oddly familiar.

A text came in-Han read it before closing his phone. "Apparently, that's our reigning champion right there." he pointed, to the same woman Dom was checking out. "They call her the, '_corazón valiente_'."

A smile erupted over Dom's features. "Braveheart." He said the translation aloud. Han glanced at Dom. "You know her?"

"You could say that." Was Dom's only answer as he got out of the Nissan Silvia S15.

They approached just as a heated debate had caused everyone to circle around them.

"Look _culo_, you lost your car fair and square. Now take a walk." Letty copped an attitude.

A man named Carlos Omon was pissed. Dom had heard about him from the racing scene back home. Word was he had a nasty temper, and an even nastier disposition for anyone who beat him in a race.

"You think just because you're the bitch sister of Julian, that you can come down here and embarrass me?! I don't think so mami."

"You don't have a fucking choice." She shot back, not backing down from whatever he had coming.

"How about we settle this once in for all, huh? One more race." Carlos challenged.

Letty rolled her eyes. "You want to race for your car?" she almost laughed.

Carlos shook his head. "Nah, I got plenty of cars." He stepped to her, running his hand across her cheek. "I'll race you for that sweet ass."

Letty immediately smacked his hands away. "Pathetic." She growled. "Can't afford to race me or pay me, so you insult me trying to get laid."

"You know, I like you mami-you're strong…you just need to be broken-by a real man." Carlos told her, running a bold hand down her side, resting on her hips.

Her eyes widened, as she took a step back, punching him clean across the face. He went down easy. The crowd erupted into cheers, and whistles.

Carlos cursed, rising to his feet, laughing bitterly as he balled up his fist. He turned with full force, only to come face to face with 6 foot 2 of solid muscle and steel eyes.

"I don't think she likes being touched." Dom said simply, his stance ready, for whatever.

"Toretto." Carlos acknowledged, backing down just a bitch. "Never thought I'd see the day you'd come chasing after some _cabrona."_

"That _bitch_, is my old lady. And it'd be wise for you to back the fuck up." Dom threatened.

Carlos backed down, glancing at the crowd. He wasn't about to get dissed in front of his own crowd. This was his turf, not theirs.

"You must think you're slick shit, comin' up in here disrespectin' me." Carlos barked. "But you made one error my friend. Tonight is blackout. Anything is up for grabs. Even _her_." He pointed to Letty.

Dom glanced at Han, who lifted a shoulder. "I told you. Anything goes tonight."

"So, this is how it goes down. Everything on the line- I'll race you. For your title, her cars, her money, and that sweet coño."

Letty was ready to attack again, but Han held her back. "Easy Killer. Dom's got this." He advised.

"Who are you?" She barked. She'd seen him at a few races in California, but had never actually spoken to him.

"Name's Han. Dom calls me for all the _'fun stuff'_. " He introduced himself, while offering her a chip.

Dom stepped to Carlos, his voice clear, but dangerous. "After I win this. I'm going to take your car, your money, and then I'm going to let girl beat your face in with a 2 x4."

Carlos laughed. "Looking forward to it. You stupid hijo de puta." He spat, heading to one of his cars.

Dom walked back towards Letty and Han. He saw her cutting daggers at Carlos, her anger practically steaming off her body. "Hey." He said, pulling her focus away from the bastard, to meet his attention.

Letty stared at him. A spark ignited in her eyes. One she only got for him. "There she is." He mumbled, bringing her closer for a kiss. Letty sighed, sliding her tongue across his lips, and Dom granted her access.

Their tongues mated for a bit before Han coughed with a smirk. Dom smiled, breaking apart. His eyes roamed over her body with open appreciation as she leaned against the hood of a Shelby GT500. "Nice body work."

Letty rolled her eyes, but smiled. Han walked a bit closer. "Need a car." Dom was about to accept Han's when Letty beamed smugly and nodded to her left. "Choose your weapon."

Dom noticed that she had been very busy. There were fiive cars lined up. One '67 Chevy Camaro, a Nissan 200SX, a Mitsubishi Eclipse GT, a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, and 1970 Buick GSX Stage 1.

Han glanced at the cars, and back at Letty. "You really are lethal." She laughed.

Dom pulled up to the starting line in the GSX Stage 1, where Carlos was already waiting in his Ferrari.

Letty came up to him, leaning into the window. "He's going to lead you into the cliffs, where the road is complete shit. Try not to get pushed off the side. You got this?"

Dom put the car in gear and revved the engine. "Got it."

She waited a moment, and he glanced at her. "Try not to get hurt."

"You talking about my feelings or somethin'?" Dom raised a brow, questioning her.

Before Letty could respond, Carlos shouted over the anxious crowd. "Rest easy mami! After tonight, that ass is gonna be sore!"

Letty cut him a glare, before returning her attention to Dom, who was contemplating on running the Stage 1 right into Carlos' skull. His jaw tightened with tension.

Letty put a hand on his cheek, giving him a chaste kiss on the side of his forehead. "Kick his ass." She walked off, back toward Han.

Dom prepared his mind, now focused on the most important race of his life.

* * *

The racer chick came in between the cars, and not to long after, gave the signal. As the cars took off, but time slowed down. Dom focused on the terrain, shifting the gears mechanically. Carlos was hot on his tail, clipping his bumper, trying to make him panic into error.

_Not tonight._ Dom thought, as he accelerated on the gas. A tunnel appeared up ahead, engulfing them in complete darkness.

Carlos used that to his advantage, ramming Dom against the wall. Dom shoved back, as they exited the tunnel, causing the Ferrari to drift too wide into the desert.

The last quarter mile was coming up. Carlos was back in his rear view, planning his next move no doubt.

The sharp turns indicated that they were close to the cliffs, as rocks and loose gravel littered the road. Carlos had come up on the safe side, trying to ram him into the thin guard rail.

Dom rammed him back into the mountain side as loose few rocks fell. One crashed Carlos' passenger window. He'd heard him scream and his car swerve. Pussy.

The clearing was up ahead. Dom in the clear lead, and Carlos accelerating behind him. Then he heard gun shots.

Carlos was half hanging out the window, shooting wildly as he accelerated."She's _mine_, Toretto!" One of the bullets hit his tire, and he began to swerve, giving a small window for Carlos to take the slight lead.

"DOM!" He heard Letty shout for him as he tried to control the car. If he didn't do something fast, Carlos was going to win a lot more than this car. And him period, was not an option.

Swerving hard, Dom's car did a one 180, the back end racing forward across the finish line. It drifted slightly, stopping two feet from the crowd.

He got out of the car, heading straight to Carlos' Ferrari. Yanking him out of the front seat, he proceeded to beat his face in. "Pussy." He growled out at him, slamming his head into the driver door.

Carlos' face was dazed and beaten.

Letty kneeled in front of him, handing him back the keys to his Nissan as she took the ones to his Ferrari. "You belong to me now." She threatened, and left him there in the dirt. Dom watched carefully until she was safely behind him, and into the GT 500, before joining her.

They took off into the night.

* * *

"Hey unc." Letty greeted her uncle as they entered the house around 2AM. Letty turned to Dom, "Voy a tomar una ducha." Turning to her uncle, she warned, "Don't get him drunk."

Milo nodded, giving her a kiss on the head as she passed. As soon as he heard the bathroom door close, he handed Dom an ice cold Corona.

Dom just smiled, accepting it. "You're going to get us both in trouble."

"I'm too old for trouble, son. Have a seat." Milo invited, waving to the two big chairs. Dom obliged, relaxing his aching muscles.

"My niece will be the death of me." He stated, sipping his beer. "I tell her one thing and it goes right out the window."

Dom raised a brow with a smile. "She's good for that. Defiant to the end."

"Letty is like a daughter to me. Taught her, her father, and her brother everything she knows about cars. But lately, it's like she would rather piss glass than listen to me or anyone else."

Seeing his worry, Dom swallowed his beer and offered, "She admires you Milo. You know that."

Nodding, he said, "I know she used to. She reminds me so much of my first wife, Michaela. Beautiful, 'defiant to the end' as you call it, and she had a slick mouth; could talk her way into heaven or out of hell."

"Sounds like the perfect Woman." Dom stated taking another swig of his beer.

"She was. Until we were fleeing from the cops in San Antonio. Cops gunned down her car, thinking it was me." Milo recalled painfully. "The crazy thing was, that day; I'd had a choice- to leave her behind-to do one last job. I didn't need her there, but I wanted her to be there and I knew she wanted to be there."

"What's your point?" Dom cut to the chase. Milo was never one to give free information willingly. And if the story was to allude that he'd risk Letty's life unnecessarily, he could stop talking right now.

Milo's features hardened at Dom's tone. His eyes darkened. "Letty's too loyal for her own good. It has to be you."

Dom just stared at him. "What are you getting' at?" Although he had a pretty good idea.

"Dammit Dom, I can't just sit back and watch my niece recklessly ride by your side. I won't allow it." Milo's voice rose an octave.

"Ain't your call." Dom tell him heatedly, rising to his feet. He wasn't about to let nobody tell him he couldn't be with her. Not after all they'd been through, not after all they'd seen.

Milo rose as well, taking a step towards him. "You're right. It's yours. A real man makes the tough calls. Are you that man Toretto? Because I wasn't. And look where it got me."

Dom watched Milo head to his room, letting his words sink in for a moment. As much as he hated to admit it, Milo had a point. Letty would follow him right to hell, if he asked her too. Not even _if_ he asked. She loved him enough to stay. Did he love her enough to leave?

* * *

They laid on her old double sized bed. Dom's hands crossed behind his head, bare chest in boxers, as Letty sat next to him in only a wife-beater, dressing his wounds. In the shower, he discovered to have a two inch cut. Not deep, but the bleeding was steady.

"We've got about 50 grand, if you don't count the Stage 1." She said casually. "But if we wanna get out of Mexico, we'll need to buy a fake passport and new I.D.s, and they don't come cheap here."

Dom groaned a bit as she poured a little tequila on the cut. He'd been quiet ever since they'd gotten home. The adrenaline wearing off, as his weariness weighed in.

Letty could tell he was troubled. "Hey, are still with me?" she asked.

"I shouldn't have let this happen." Dom said after a moment. Letty paused, exhaling. His mind was on the last heists.

"We all stepped into this together." She reminded him, grabbing some gauze. Dom didn't buy it. "You know, this is my fault, so don't try to bullshit me."

"Dom, let it go." She said firmly. Dom's anger grew, but he didn't shout. "I can't let it go. Jesse is dead, Vince is barely hanging on by a damn thread, Leon's gone and Mia is left alone to face whatever shit that is left!"

"Give her some credit. She's a lot stronger than you think she is." Letty defended in her absence. She knew Mia could be strong when she needed to be, and had risen to the occasion more than her fair share.

Dom sat up, staring straight into her eyes. "There is no future with me. Being around me is going to get you locked up or killed and I-"

"Shut up!" Letty snapped. "Just shut up, because I'm not going anywhere!" Dom was quiet for a moment, looking down at the comforter, before meeting her determined gaze. "Don't you get tired of this?"

"Do you?" She countered.

"All the time we've known each other, I've dragged you through hell and back. I've put you through too much." He explained.

"And it's still not enough to make me leave." Letty told him, straddling his hips. "This man once told me, '_No real racer needs a rear view mirror.'_ What's behind us isn't as important as the future."

"So you're giving me my father's advice?" Dom retorted with a sigh. Letty shrugged. "He was a smart man."

"Yeah." Dom agreed. God, how he wished he could talk to him right now. Ask him for advice, have his ear to listen to.

"Stop looking for reasons why we shouldn't be together." Letty advised him quietly, finishing up with the first aid kit.

"You're afraid I'll find one." Dom guessed.

"NO. I'm afraid one will find us." Letty objected, touching the necklace. "And right now, we don't need any more bad luck."

He smirked. "I saw the egg in the bathroom. I don't think we're going to have any more bad luck."

"Given that we've got 50 grand worth of merchandise and stolen cars in the chop shop, I wouldn't bet on it." Letty chuckled.

He smirked a little before his expression grew serious again. "If I asked you, not to follow…"

"Don't ask me that." Letty cut him off heatedly.

"_If I did_," Dom persisted.

He watched her struggle with some inner battle. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, by having her think he didn't want to be with her. But after seeing Jesse die, it had all changed for him. Milo was right. He was willing to consider what was best for her-even if he wasn't in the picture.

"…then I wouldn't." Letty consented quietly. She was silent for a while, feeling like she'd just lost the fight of her life.

Dom pulled her by the back of her neck till she was less than a centimeter away from him She'd proven herself to be in it for the long haul…and that is what broke his resolve every time. . "I love you." He whispered.

"I know." She whispered back, before attacking his mouth. He slipped his hands under the wife beater, sliding them up her body to knead her breasts.

Letty smiled, mumbling between kisses. "Tease."

Dom laughed, pulling the garment over her head. He paused, admiring her curvaceous body-from the swell of her breasts, to the dip of her waist, and outward curve of her hips. His hands followed the contours of her body, lightly savoring the touch. "Beautiful." He complimented softly.

Letty let his eyes roam over her naked form happily, knowing in seconds she was going to be taken on the ride of her life.

* * *

**10:00AM…**

She awoke to Dom watching over her from a chair. "Morning." She yawned.

"Morning." Dom greeted. "The cops are cracking down. They just interrogated your uncle this morning, luckily, I wasn't here. Got to get out today."

Nodding, Letty sat up. "Like right now?" she asked, prepared to do so if he gave the word.

"Yeah." Dom said simply. "Letty…I'm asking."

Letty just stared at him. She thought they'd settled this last night. She thought he wouldn't ask.

Dom read her confused and hurt expression. She couldn't argue because she'd given her word. "I'll contact you in a few days." He bent down and kissed her hair. "I love you-don't be mad." He whispered in her ear before he kissed that too.

Then he was gone. She listened to the sound of the Chevy Camaro leave the driveway. Listened to it fade away. Till she could only hear the blood rushing through her ears. Her heart pound.

She aimlessly made her way to the breakfast table, not bothering to get anything to eat- Everything in her mouth had turned to ash. That's how her uncle found her. Sitting at the table, blank expression.

"Where's Dom?" Milo asked, opening the fridge.

"He's gone," Letty told him quietly."…and he's never coming back."

Milo nodded. "Good call." He assessed.

Letty's eyes shot to him, furious. "How the hell is that a good call?!"

" Letty, you can start over. The cops are only looking for him, and that's the way it needs to stay." Milo told her upfront.

"You." Letty accused. "You got to him didn't you?"

"I did this for you Leticia." Milo defended, using her full name in his fatherly tone.

"What did you say." She barked at him. This was unbelievable! She felt so betrayed by the one person she'd trusted the most.

"It doesn't-"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!" She hollered.

He sighed. "I told him if he cared about you at all, he would stop ruining your life! He's nothing but a pendejo street punk!"

She couldn't help it-She punched him. It was hard, and she knew she'd made a solid connect with his nose, whipping his face back.

Milo stumbled a bit. Half in shock, the other half in rage. His nose was bleeding, and there was a small ringing in his ears, but he choked it up.

Letty ran back to her room, slamming her door. How could he? How could Milo do this to them? It was like the world was caving in, and she didn't have the strength to fight it and her enemies.

The television was on babbling on about some bullshit. She went to turn it off, pausing at seeing a familiar face.

"_Dominic Toretto is wanted by the LAPD and FBI. We have reason to believe he will try to hit the Guatemalan border. The border patrol has been doubled, for security measures, but at this time he hasn't been sighted. Patrol has been issued the order to take affirmative measures-"_

Letty turned off the television. Dom would be driving into a massacre. Shit.

She hastily got dressed. In 15 minutes, she was out the door, bags packed, and on her cell phone. "Carlos, get up. I need a favor." She told him and proceeded to bark orders.

* * *

**_4 Days later..._**

Dom idled the car as police sirens screeched in the distance. Every cop car in Mexico was on his ass, and he needed to think. He could out drive them, but he couldn't out drive bullets. He was less than 5 miles from Escuintla-freedom.

"TORRETO!" The cop called over the mega phone. "Stand Down! _salir del coche y poner poner sus manos en la cabeza."_

"Not today." Dom objected allowed. He gunned it, causing the Mexican dust to flare into the sky.

The police chased him, for the next few meters, trying to see through the dust. What they saw was a mess.

Every street racing car had come out of nowhere, scrambling into the mist. Over a 100 cars in view, all different colors and disorientating sounds. The cops yelled at each other.

"Vamos hombre, no lo pierdas, no lo pierdas!" One of the cop drivers shouted to his partner.

"Nunca lo tuvimos!" His partner shouted back, swerving out of the way of one of the cars.

"Alright boys, it's go-time! We gotta keep distracted for at least two miles. " Letty called into the microphone.

She got a lot affirmatives. They swerved in and out of the dust, causing mayhem for the cops who were trying to track Toretto.

Ramming one of the cops on her right she laughed. "Bumper cars baby!"

Carlos was racing in an El Comino, painted candy apple red. "Let's get it! They can't arrest us all baby, they can't arrest us all!"

Han swerved in and out, and around different cars. " You got a 2 minute window Let."

Letty didn't waste time as she found Dom in the chaos. She parked her car in front of his, others covering them.

" Take the GT500. We've got you covered for two miles." Letty told him as they reached each other.

Dom just stared at her, before asking. "You sure about this?" Damn he loved this girl. Always on time.

"You bet your sweet ass, papa." She told him with a grin.

Dom didn't share her grin, as he realized she was the one, and the only one.-and there would never be another.

"Come on!" Letty shouted over the noise, getting into his car. He quickly scampered to the GT, revving the engine.

"Okay mami, what's the move?" Carlos asked over the walkie talkie.

"We keep 'em busy." Letty called. She, Han and Dom had raced out of the scramble, heading for the boarder.

More cops had made it out of the chaos, hot on their tail. And this time, they were shooting. Carlos and some of his crew were on their tails, while the majority lead them away back towards Mexico.

One of them had gotten close enough range to shoot out Letty's back window. Her car swerved. "Shit." She cursed.

She planned on breaking hard, causing the cop car to crash, but to no avail. A Stage 1 appeared from the dust, shooting the car's tires with a shot gun.

The cop car flipped three times. Letty glanced to her left to see her uncle, shooting back while driving. He glanced her way and nodded. She knew he was sorry.

She couldn't help but smile. She loved a full team effort.

As the border approached, more cops joined in the ride. She glanced at Dom, who was watching her. She smirked and veered right, driving the cops away from Dom.

She glanced in her rear view. Every cop was following her. "Alright boys. Don't make it too easy for me!" She revved the engine, giving it more horse power as she ripped through the Mexican soil. She loved a good chase.

EOC.

* * *

Trivia: Did you know, that at one point, they were seriously considering Mark Wahlberg or Eminem for the roll of Brian? Eminem? Eww! Like...no...I think the real Slim Shady is AMAZING...but not for the character Brian. But I could actually see Markie Mark doing the part justice. I could be wrong. What do yall think?

This may be an opinion, but I was watching Fast and Furious (2009), and I just realized, how gansta Fenix (Laz Alonso) is! He has the best lines in the entire film. Just merciless! _Do you remember her face? Huh? 'Cuz I don't…_But in fast and furious 6, we come to find out that he does in fact have a heart, because he didn't shoot Letty while she was down. He just blew up her car.

A/N: Again, thank you so much for the reviews, and I'm **TERRIBLY SORRY** this took so long. I had a hard time with this chapter. So many things I wanted to put into it, and I didn't want to post it until it felt right.


	9. 3rd Quarter Mile: Buster

A/n: I just want to say…**WOW**. Thank you for all the love and support for this story. Over 11,000+ views? That's freaking insane! Many people say I write the characters so well (I don't think so) and I get so many compliments, so again, **THANK YOU!** This chapter is short, sweet and to the point. I'm exploring Letty and Brian's relationship a little. Enjoy-sorry it's not as long as the others.

Disclaimer: I don't own fast and furious

3rd Quarter Mile Chapter 9: Buster…

* * *

_**Five Years Later…**_

Out of all the places she could have ended up in life, back in Los Angeles California at 1327, wasn't one of them. She and Dom had split many times, but nothing like this. Something had him spooked. He was acting like she was new to their life of unorganized, unfiltered, and undefined crime.

_I just don't get him anymore._ Letty thought in defeat. He even gave back the necklace. The necklace he'd worn for over damn 3 years! He was unnecessarily scared for her welfare, regardless of how apathetic she felt about it.

She opened up the garage door to see the heap of black metal and engine in pieces. Before she left, she made damn sure that the cops hadn't scrapped it to the junkyard. She and Mia had gotten into a bit of an argument, Mia claiming that damn car should stay in hell.

But Letty knew better. She knew that this was Dom's only physical connection to his father. It represented something greater than even she could understand.

Mia shot her a text, saying she'd be home after her night shift at the hospital, but not to wait up. _Welcome home…what's left of it anyways.'_ Was the second text she sent.

Looking back at the demolished charger, Letty nodded. Yeah. Something had to change-and fast. Dropping her duffel bag, she decided to keep herself busy until Mia got home. She grabbed a wrench, and rag. Time to go to work.

* * *

_Two Days Later…_

Brian sat at Fat Burger, having lunch. This case was kicking his ass. Four operatives. Four damn agents, dead. He'd gone through a lot of hell to get so close. When the FBI recruited him, he thought his luck had changed. He'd been under cover for the past five years, trying to find a way in.

"Well look who found their way." A familiarly raspy voice called out, as if reading his thoughts.

Brian couldn't help the smiled that formed on his face. At first he thought he'd imagined it, but the scent was the same-rose petal soap and engine oil.

"Letty." He spoke her name before looking up look from his plate.

"Buster." Letty greeted, taking a seat, not waiting for an invitation.

Brian watched her take off her sunglasses. It seems hiding from the law was doing her some good. She looked beautiful, still badass, if a bit mature.

"What are you doing here?" He asked, skipping the pleasantries. Letty didn't miss a beat. "I tracked you down."

That wasn't a big surprise. If he knew one thing about Letty, it's that if she wanted to find you, she would-with little difficulty. She was a better tracker than anyone the FBI could ever train, for sure.

"For?" He asked.

"You owe Dom." She told him boldly. "No, scratch that. You owe me."

"What do I owe you Letty." He sighed, knowing he was about to feel the wrath of a woman scorned. But the thunder clouds never appeared, and she never raised her voice.

"Dom hasn't been home in five years. He's alienated himself from everyone. And that's all fine and noble, but when he starts pulling that shit with me, we gotta problem." Letty informed him, her tone harsh.

"I can't apologize enough-" Brian started but she cut him a look.

"Save the apologies. I want to clear his name." She told him. Brian sat back in his seat. "How? By doing his time?" he crossed his arms and waited.

Letty sat back in her seat, a bit defeated. Well, that was a damn good question. "I don't know, like a mission or something. Word is that you're still hiding behind that nickel slick badge."

Brian cocked an eyebrow at her. Was she serious? He didn't work for British Intelligence and this wasn't a freaking 007 film. This was ridiculous. Wait…she knew he was still a cop?

"It's not made of nickel, and no. Make that a hell no. It's too risky." Brian claimed, shaking his head as he came to a decision. "Dom left to protect you, and under the current circumstances, I'm supposed to bring in anyone who knows of his whereabouts."

"And who the hell are you to judge what qualifies as a risk?" Her temper flared. She took a breath, calming her nerves as customers walked passed. They'd all taken the biggest risk of all by trusting this _vato_.

"It took us a while to get our shit together Brian." Letty whispered harshly. "Too fucking long, too many tears, too much blood. I can't walk away from that-don't make me…."

After a moment, she sighed. "Don't make me beg."

With a breath, Brian put a few bills on the table. He walked around and leaned over, giving Letty a kiss on the temple. "It was good seeing you."

And he was gone again. Fuck.

* * *

_**36 hours later…**_

Brian just stared at the screen of the men who were no longer breathing. Braga was tearing this bureau apart. They needed solid evidence on him. They didn't need someone inside his club or his damn warehouse. They needed someone on the streets.

"Two Days O' Conner, have patience son." The chief Gildings advised. "We can have another agent in two days."

"With all due respect sir, these agents are rookies. We send them out there, and they come back in body bags." Brian stated, scrapping the idea of sending in another agent.

"Then what do you suggest?" Trinh asked. Brian always liked her. She was a small Asian, with a big mind and an even bigger detestation for bullshit.

"Someone who's street smart, who can see trouble coming, not a cop. That's the only way we can assure they won't end up dead in the next 24 hours." Brian told her, studying the information on the screen.

"You want to send some street racing punk, over a trained FBI operative?" Stasiack exclaimed, as if the notion was completely ridiculous. It _was_ completely ridiculous.

"That training is worth shit if they all end up dead." Brian answered, but never took his eyes off the screen.

"Do it." Gildings said, agreeing with him. "We'll play it your way-for now. Be careful."

* * *

Letty was at the cliffs. A familiar place for her and Dom. Some of their best memories were up here. Like the time she had a fight with her mom, and he'd snuck her out of her house at 3AM, just to go for a drive.

It'd been the first time he kissed her. Afterwards, he never brought up the subject again, and neither did she. It wasn't till August, that they…

"Hey." Brian called quietly.

She jumped a bit out of her thoughts. Brian examined her closely, his brows furrowing together in concern. He had good reason to be. Not many people could sneak up on her. "You alright?" he asked.

Nodding, she handed him a Corona she'd brought from the house. When he called, saying they needed to talk, her hopes were high, but so were her doubts. The corona took the edge off things…a little. "What's up?" she asked.

"Letty, why do you trust me?" Brian finally asked after a long swig of his beer. "I could turn you in at any moment."

"Because Dom trusted you." Letty answered directly. "And at one point, I _believed_ us to be friends."

Brian smirked. He and Letty were always able to talk. They weren't best of friends-something he always wondered would have changed under other circumstances.

"The FBI recruited me because I'm a good liar. Of all the skills I have, that one proved to be the most valuable." Brian told her, still a bit shocked himself. "Hell, half the time I don't even know what's right anymore."

She took a sip of her beer and ran her fingers through her hair. "There's a difference between doing what you know is right and what you feel is right."

"Sounds like you've had a bit of experience with that." Brian said, glancing at her. "I still can't believe after everything that's happened, you're standing here, talking to me."

"When you first raced, you asked for respect." Letty told him with a slight shrug. "There's only been one other person who's asked Dom for the same request."

"Who was that?" He asked, but already having an idea.

"Me." Letty told him. "…and _that's_ the Brian that Dom trusts. The same Brian that had a choice to let him rot in prison, but didn't."

Brian sighed. It felt good, not to be hated every second of the day. For his conscience not to eat at him for all the lies he told.

"It's hard. Hard to get out of bed sometimes." Brian confessed into the night air. "I can barely look myself in the mirror. I just…don't know who I am."

"Hey-You weaseled your way into the family, _Buster_." Letty's voice hardened. She wasn't up for having a pity party. "Prove you belong here."

Brian groaned. Prove he belonged… He shouldn't even bring it up. "This isn't a guarantee, and I don't want you to get hurt."

Letty stared at him with a raised brow. "You talkin' about my feelings or sometin?" She inwardly smiled, recalling when Dom had said the same thing to her in Mexico.

"I'm serious Letty. This is the FBI, not LAPD. One misjudged step, and we're both fucked." Brian cautioned her. Why he was doing this dumb shit…because it felt right.

"I won't mess up." She assured him. Brian looked at her for a long moment, and exhaled. "Screw it." He mumbled, and explained the case he'd been trying to knuckle down for five years.

"You sure you want to do this?" He asked after everything was said and done. This was her last chance to do the sane thing and back out.

After a pause, she revealed. "I'm sure."

Brian closed his eyes, cursing under his breath. He was hoping she'd say no. He wasn't ready to send her out to the wolves. He'd missed her friendship.

It was easy to see why Dom was so in love with her. She was smart, down to earth…and calming. A man could be himself, flaws and all-knowing she wouldn't play judge and jury.

Letty half smiled-a smile of pure defeat. "He looked at me like that was the last time he was going to see me. I knew after that, no matter how hard I tried to look, I'd never find him again."

"Dom doesn't abandon family." Brian told her assuring. Glancing back at the ocean, he asked, "Ever thought about having kids?"

Letty glanced at him like he'd grown a second head. That was a bit too damn personal. Brian lifted a shoulder. "It was just question!"

She exhaled and rolled her eyes. "We were at the beach, and this girl was having a shit-fit because she'd lost her favorite bracelet. I gave her one of mine, and we made a sandcastle."

"Dom saw the whole thing." Brian assumed, picturing the moment in his mind.

She nodded. "Dom's always wanted kids-he adores them. After we pulled off the last boost, we were going to go to Mexico…work on having one."

"Shit." Brian cursed under his breath. "I'm sorry Letty."

"Don't." She waved him off, getting control of her emotions. She'd shed enough tears over that memory the morning Dom left her in the D.R.

"How's…." Brian could barely form the words, and Letty shook her head. "Don't open that door, unless you intend to walk through it Buster."

Brian understood, and dropped the subject. Of all the women he'd met in five years, Mia, stayed on his mind, always in close to the front. He hadn't called her, hadn't written…he just took off-much like his father.

"There's an entry race tomorrow night. Braga needs new runners for his cartel. If you get in, we'll talk more. If not, you walk away." Brian ordered.

Letty nodded. "Fair enough." She agreed with a smile.

Brian rolled his eyes. "You're going to win, aren't you?" he groaned with a slight apprehension in his tone.

Raising a brow, "Yep." She confirmed. She'd never been so pumped for a race in her life.

* * *

_**Just after winning the race….**_

The crowd erupted as the 70 Plymouth crossed the finish line. All the mocking and teasing before the race, proved to be the added motivation she needed to win.

Fenix examined Letty as she stepped out the car, standing directly in front of him. "You sure know how to handle a stick."

Letty smirked, then it quickly faded. "Now what." She demanded to know. She knew Brian was somewhere in the crowd, watching closely, ready to pounce if needed.

Fenix nodded to his car. "We could go for a ride. I could show you-"

"HELL NO." Letty sneered, cutting him off. "I'm not here for any of your played out Mack daddy come-ons. So why don't we cut the shit, and get straight to the point."

Fenix's temper flared. He was about to sling out a slew of curse words, but he calmed himself. "Only a bold bitch has nerve, talking to me like that."

"The boldest." She assured, crossing her arms. Letty was in no mood to play games, and she wanted everyone to know it.

A beautiful woman on the sidelines approached him, smirking at Fenix's angered expression. He wasn't used to hearing the words 'hell' and 'no' in the same sentence. Whoever this girl was, she liked her, already.

"Thumb print. Standard tracking device." She explained. "We'll contact you when it's time."

Letty nodded, doing as she was instructed, giving them her thumb print. She asked the same question, before. "Now what."

"Now, you enjoy the moment." Giselle advised a bit sadly and walked off. She knew for a fact, that the girl was living in the last of hers.

* * *

_A few weeks Later…_

Letty walked into the house, peeling off her jacket like it was a ton of bricks. Man, she was tired. Combat training was a bit tiring. Yeah, she had street smarts, but Brian had showed her some moves that were impressive.

She made her way to the kitchen to see Mia, crying while cleaning up some glass. She'd dropped a glass of water…or threw it.

"This is all my fault." Mia hiccuped, trying to wipe up her tears. She had just come in from the grocery store, buying more food than necessary. She'd bought enough food for…well, enough to feed a family.

"Come on Mia" She sighed, helping her by getting the broom. "It's just a glass." She quirked. Mia cut her a glare, and Letty rolled her eyes. _So much for lightening the mood._

"If I hadn't trusted Brian…" She, shoving the groceries into the fridge.

"_Don't!"_ Letty cut her off. Of all people, it was least of all her fault. Mia was the only one with sense enough to oppose Jesse's plan. In fact, she hadn't spoken to her brother for a month.

"It's true. Maybe then my brother would have been able to see right through him. Vince did." She recalled, slamming the refrigerator.

"Dom made his decisions on his own. We all did." Letty tried to reason with her. She'd had a long night, and she didn't feel like playing supportive best friend. It was wrong and selfish, but she already had enough on her mind.

"Where have you been all day?" Mia asked, inspecting her. She'd asked the same question for the past three weeks.

But Brian and her both agreed, the less people knew, the less shit there would be in the aftermath. Right now, Mia's record was clean, and she knew Dom wanted it to stay that way.

"Out." Was Letty's only reply.

Mia rolled her eyes towards the heavens, putting her hands on her hips. "It's like he's in Lompoc all over again, but worse…"

"Worse?" She raised a brow, grabbing a beer from the fridge. Nothing was worse than Dom being in prison. Nothing. Those were the worst two years of her life.

"Jesse's dead, Brian's a liar, Vince and Leon have disappeared, my brother barely even picks up the phone to call me!" Mia yelled, nearly in hysterics, on the verge of tears again.

"You've still got me, girl." Letty offered quietly, taking a swig of her beer.

"_You?!"_ Mia laughed humorlessly. "You're gone all damn day! You barricade yourself in the garage all afternoon and disappear at night! I live with a ghost!"

Well that, Letty couldn't defend and she knew it. Her mind had been so focused on her own mission, she hadn't really had the time for anything else. Not even Mia-the one who's never put her second. Letty didn't know how to make up for her lapse in judgment or explain that she was working with Brian. Mia would probably have a heart attack. She could not figure out how Dom did it for so long-keep secrets from the people he loved.

"You know, my father used to be an atheist, before he met my mother?" Mia spoke softly. Letty took a seat at the table as Mia grabbed a beer and joined her.

"He used to say, 'don't believe what you can't see or hear, just because someone tells you something with a straight face'." She continued. Letty just listened.

"When they married, he took her faith, became very committed after she died. It rubbed off on Dom the most. I'm starting to think dad had it right the first time."

"You don't mean that." Letty objected. This wasn't the Mia she knew. Questioning everything, blaming herself, insecure. She didn't like it-not one dammed bit.

"Look at us! Look at the hell we're in!" Mia motioned aimlessly around the house. " Are we even family or just going through the motions?

That stung. Letty couldn't believe she'd just asked that. She wouldn't be hanging out with drug lords and dodging sleazy advances from Fenix if they weren't. She definitely wouldn't be holding out for a man, who had a propensity for leaving her.

"We are _still _family." Letty told her firmly.

"Then tell me the truth, _sister_. What are you up to? If it involves my brother, I have a right to know." Mia said, her voice cold and calculating.

Letty closed her eyes and mentally cursed. At that moment, she hated Brian-for everything. Despite it all, she still refused to bring Mia into this mess. She remained quiet.

" Thought so." Mia concluded, getting up from the table. She went to her room and slammed the door.

Letty finished her beer, pissed off, sad, stressed. It was times like these when she'd normally lay in Dom's bed, with one of his shirts, staring into the dark. She remembered Mia coming to their room one night-the night after the rape. She'd been in tears, and hadn't felt like talking.

Mia had stood by the door and asked her_, "Will we ever be back to the way we were?" _ Her voice had been so hopeful, so full of life, despite the tragedy that'd struck.

Letty remembered that she'd had just the opposite. She was a shell of her former self. It wasn't because of what had happened to her just hours ago. It was because she was in love with Dom, and he'd said she wasn't family. The old Dom would have never said that to her.

"_Some days it doesn't feel like it." _Was her answer. Now, more than ever, she felt the weight of those words.

A beeping sound came through her pocket. She checked the phone. It was Giselle-and directions for the rendezvous point.

Another text came from Brian. It simply read, '_Go time.'_

Letty sighed, and stood grabbing her coat on the way out the door. After she finished this, she'd fix things with Mia. She'd bring Dom home.

* * *

_-24 hours later…._

"Coming!" Mia called as she hopped out of the shower. Someone was banging on her door like the damn police.

She slipped on a tank top and sweat pants, and ran down stairs. She opened to the door to be greeted by LAPD. Oh the irony. _ Speak of the devil…_ She thought to herself. She huffed.

"Every damn week, y'all come here and ask me about my brother-and every week, I give you the same answer. Go fuck yourself." She started to slam the door, but the man held it open.

"Does a Letty Ortiz live here?" He asked solemnly. Mia opened the door, crossing her arms. "Why." She demanded to know, not providing any solid answers.

"Letty Ortiz was announced dead twelve hours ago. She has you listed as her next of kin."

Everything in Mia's world halted. What? Letty was dead? No, there must be some mistake. This was _Letty_. The girl who survived everything. "I'm sorry, there has to be some mistake."

The officer announced. "I'm sorry Miss Toretto."

Air- she needed air. The room begun to spin. The officer caught her with cat-like reflexes as she began to fall. He called in his partner, and they brought her inside to the living room.

The second officer brought her a glass of water, "Breathe ma'am. We need you to breathe." He instructed softly.

"H—how?" Mia gasped out through tears. How could she have said the things she said to her? How could she accuse Letty of not being family? How was she going to live without her best friend? How…how was she going to tell her brother?

But the police answered a different question. "She was run off the road. We believe there to be foul play."

The first officer handed her a card. "If you know anything, please call us."

"I wanna see where she died." Mia demanded after a moment. Her voice was scratchy, and she could barely see, her eyes were so puffy. The police exchanged a look.

The first officer spoke. "Maybe after you've had time-"

"NOW." Mia's commanding voice cut through any objections they could come up with. The second officer sighed. "Come with us."

Long after the sun had gone down, Mia had come back to the crash site, just looking at the road marks, only imagining what could have happened. _What were you thinking?!_ She screamed in her mind.

Taking out her cell phone, she dialed a number she hadn't called in almost a month. "_Tengo que hablar con el padrino."_ She waited for a moment, before a baritone voice came through her receiver.

"Dom." She breathed, working up her courage.

Her brother's ever warning voice came through. "Mia, I told you not to call me-"

"Dom, it's Letty" Mia cut him off, her voice starting to quiver. She took a breath. "She's been murdered…"

There was a long pause on the other end of the phone. Mia's tears fell down her face, not believing what she was going to say next. "I'm begging you Dom…don't come back."

"I'll see you soon." Was his reply.

"Dom," She tried to object, but it was no point. The line went dead.

EOC-

* * *

Trivia: Dominic Torretto's Charger has been in all of his movies, except the sixth one. Wonder what happened to it after Hobbs smashed it in Rio. We'll see it again. It's like

A/n: I had the worst damn time writing this chapter. Definitely not my favorite, because I have a hard time writing Brian. I was going to write a whole race scene with Fenix and Letty but…*shrug*…I just cut to the important part. Thanks to everyone not riding my ass about not updating so soon! The third quarter mile was really_ really_ hard! Like, I would sit and think…_how the hell do you make a story good if the two main characters aren't together having sex?_ :/ Anyways, thanks for your patience. This chapter has SKIPPED, everything in the D.R. and takes place right before Dom receives that phone call in fast 4.


	10. 4th Quarter Mile: Just like Old Times

A/N: **Okay- I know right?! Me, trifling, and crazy, but I promised this story would be finished, and I'll be dammed if I make myself a liar. This chapter is a little less dramatic and more comforting. I hope you enjoy it, and don't worry- chapter 11 is going to be really cool, AND kick ass! Thanks for all the reviews, and love and support for this story! Over 15,000 views! Keep reading it, and no worries- I have different Dom/Letty worlds that I want to share with my readers and I hope I get the same kind I love I received for this story.**

**Disclaimer-I don't own fast and the furious!**

4th Quarter Mile Chapter 10: Just like old times.

* * *

It was frustrating.

Being back in California, not living a life of crime, not knowing where she fit in. In the back of her mind, she always felt something tugging at her, connecting her with the people she'd met just over a couple of weeks ago.

People who swore to be her true family. People who risked their lives without question, just for Dom. And Dom would risk everything, just for her.

In Europe, Shaw had taught her never to invest. It wasn't worth it to be sentimental, and yet, Dom was nothing but. He cared too much. A quality that even she thought would get him killed. Maybe it was something her former self knew, but she hadn't. Until he emerged from the flames.

Letty worked on the beat up 74 Plymouth Cuda, that Dom said was hers. He didn't give much detail, but he explained that this car was connected to her, just like his charger was connected to him.

"_Everything you need to know about your past, you'll figure out by fixing this."_ He'd told her. That was 6 days ago.

At first, she'd given him a look of cynicism. She'd exclaimed, _"It's just a car!" _ But after watching his expression, his brief flicker of pain before it vanished, she knew she was wrong.

He'd been right. There was something about this car. The more she worked on it, the more peace it gave her. At times, it was her only comfort in the house. She was happy with her new family, and it felt good to feel safe, but most of the time...she wanted to shoot something.

Her eyes would see things like the couch, the kitchen, the backyard with the old Christmas lights…and her brain would instantly get a headache from trying to connect the memory to the present.

She knew she knew this place. She knew it was home…but it pissed her off when she did things like, sleep on the right side of the bed, grab the green toothbrush, or use rose petal soap, and not know why.

Old habits die hard, if not at all.

Closing the hood, she sighed. She was finally done with the engine. Just looking over the cuda, she smiled. This car _was_ special. It reminded her of a dark cloud, getting ready to wreak havoc on the road.

"A storm." She mumbled out loud, wiping some dust off the side. Then, it happened. Her brain was tugging at her, and her head was starting to pound.

"_So what's the story behind this one?" He asked indicating to the car. It was a Plymouth, old school American Muscle, V8 engine. The kind of car they used to fight over._

"_It doesn't look familiar to you?" She asked her expression blank as she stared out towards the valley._

_Dom checked the car, giving it a good look. Recognition dawned on him. "Oh shit. Is this…?"_

Letty groaned a bit, massaging her temples. "Shit." She cursed. Now, she watched the car with pure distaste for causing her physical pain.

After her nerves calmed a bit, she snapped. "If you're supposed to help me remember something, then cut the physic mind fucks and just do it!"

Leaving the garage, she made her way into the house.

* * *

Brian finished grabbing some tools from home depot. They were rebuilding a section of the house for the nursery, while repairing pipes and rusted drains from lack of maintenance. "Dom!" he called for the third time.

Dom seemed to be in his own world as he snapped his head at Brian. "What?"

"I asked how's Letty." Brian repeated. Dom sighed, in the way he does when he doesn't like answering questions.

"That bad, huh?" Brian assumed.

Dom lifted a shoulder. "Hard to say. A lot of her is still very much herself. She does things the way she always has."

" She has great muscle memory." Brian concluded as he examined some blue paint.

At that remark, a flash of last night's events went through his mind, and Dom smirked. "Yes she does."

Laughing at his lewd thinking, Brian pushed the cart. "So what's pissing you off? You've been looking constipated all day."

"She doesn't sleep at night." Dom revealed quietly, his brows furrowed together in concentration.

"Well she always has been a night owl." Brian told him. He didn't know as much as the Toretto's, but he did like to think he knew some things about Letty. Things a true friend should know.

"But she doesn't sleep more than two hours." Dom explained, without going too much into detail. The only time Letty would actually sleep for a decent amount of hours, was if he wore her out sexually. And even then, it wasn't a restful sleep.

"She's having disrupted nocturnal sleep." Brian informed him while examining some varnishing colors. Dom just stared.

At his scrutinizing gaze, Brian laughed nervously at his expression, and said, "I read her doctor reports, remember? You said you didn't want to know."

"Now I do." Dom ordered, crossing his arms. Brian sighed. "She doesn't sleep because she can't distinguish her dreams from her memories. It can cause the brain to stress, and even have migraines."

"And how do we fix it?" He wanted to know. For the past two weeks, he'd found Letty down stairs at 3 AM cleaning her pistols, checking her knives, or working on something in the garage. She was like a machine.

"We gotta tell her what's real and what isn't. Her dreams can be disorienting." Brian told him. "Give her time, man. She'll come back."

Dom nodded, hoping to God he was right.

* * *

Letty wondered through the living room of what had indecently been her "home" since she was 15. She hadn't gotten to really be alone to think, mainly because everyone was treating her like she wore rose colored glasses.

Brian had made a few connections for her, filling in the wholes of where she was before the hospital. Braga, drug lord, trying to clear Dom's name. She didn't know if it was true, but it felt right, so she believed it.

Most of their home was pretty old, indicating that no one had been there in a while. Mia had cleared out the rotted food from the fridge, while Dom and Brian worked on the yard and repairs.

When Mia asked if she wanted to go grocery shopping with her and Jack, she declined, thinking that's not something she would do, even without memory loss. Mia had laughed at her quick retort and Letty only assumed that was the right answer.

She glanced at the pictures that were scattered around the house. Most of them were moment shots. Some of A grungy skinny little white boy, some of the team, a few of Dom and Mia when they were younger. Others were of her and Dom, and her by herself.

She picked up one, studying it closely. It was her, dressed in boy clothes smiling, being put into a head lock by an older boy with a handsome face,-similar features to her own. He was wearing the same necklace Dom said had belonged to her. No name came to mind, but she _knew_ she knew him.

"_He didn't want me hanging around the racing crowd. He tried to make me quit the garage."_

Frustrated with her brain trying to connect the memory with a face, she put the picture down, and made her way into the parlor.

The room was bright, filled with a china cabinet, and a coffee table and a rounded couch, opposite of the bright window. An upright piano sat in the corner.

Streaking her hands across it, she lightly wiped the dust from the keys, sitting at the bench. For some reason, this seemed familiar.

Positioning her hands, she began to play a tune. She remembered some of the lyrics, and began to softly sing, "And I'd give up…forever to touch you…"

Why she played that song, how she knew to play that song, was another mystery.

She was deep into playing, when she felt someone else in her presence. "I can feel your eyes on me." She said, as she continued to play. She finished the song, and turned her gaze to face whoever interrupted.

Dom didn't move from the doorway, but stayed there, leaning against the frame, watching her. He was holding a bottle of water, a bit sweaty from being outside all morning, but otherwise, he smelt of aftershave and engine grease. A smell that was extremely familiar.

But Letty started to feel a little self-conscious under his gaze…maybe she played horribly.

"That piano hasn't been touched in over 20 years." He informed her. "My mother was the only one who played it."

Letty rose from the bench, clearly embarrassed that she'd over stepped her boundaries. "I'm sorry."

Dom ignored the apology. "When did you learn to play? London?"

Every day, he'd discovered something new about her. Secrets from her past that even she couldn't remember. Secrets that she never told even him. Like yesterday, he was shocked to discover she could skate. Today it's the piano.

"I didn't learn…I barely remember the song." She told him, half shrugging to the piano.

"It was playing on the radio the first time we'd slept together after nine months apart." He informed, taking a swig of water, before he smiled.

Letty watched his small amusement and rolled her eyes. Yet again, he'd discovered a secret about her that she hadn't known she'd been keeping. Just like yesterday.

"Tell anyone and I'll never sleep with you again." She threatened as she walked out the room.

"You remember us sleeping together?" Dom asked, his voice full of hope. Letty glanced over her shoulder as she sauntered out the door. "I remember last night."

Dom laughed, shaking his head. Yeah, they were going to be fine.

* * *

There was a party going full blast in the house as an official welcome back to the racing king-although Dom announced he would soon pass the reigns to a new victor, just like it was passed down to him.

As the sun set over the city, the BBQ was being served, along with plenty of corona. Music was blaring and everyone was enjoying themselves. But Dom and Letty were on the front porch, in comfortable silence. They say in a lounge chair, Letty resting peacefully in his lap.

"Last night I had a dream…" she started to say then stopped. "About what?" he asked, taking a swig of his corona. She frowned, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

Dom rubbed her arm assuring, like he'd done in the past. It seemed to have the same effect, because her shoulders relaxed.

Letty faced him, her eyes unreadable. Dom cupped her cheek with his hand. "You can tell me anything, baby."

She sighed, breaking eye contact, staring back at the sunset. Dom noticed the beginnings of tears come to her eyes, before she got control of them.

Bringing her chin up with his hand, he assured. "Anything."

"Well…" Letty started…

* * *

_(Dream)_

_Letty took his hand, and dragged it slowly down her body, stopping at her stomach. Without a word, she let it rest there._

_Confusion caused Dom's features to furrow together, before they grew blank with understanding._

_Dom smiled brightly as Letty let out a breath, she hadn't realized she was holding. She was met by her husband kissing her with so much love and joy that she began to laugh._

"_I'm scared…" She revealed in a small whisper. "We haven't exactly been living like saints, the past 2 years hasn't exactly been smooth, and I..."_

_Picking her up by the waist, Dom gently placed her on the counter. He stared her straight in the eyes, and promised, "You're not going anywhere, not this time. We'll figure it out, we always do."_

_Letty sighed, still unsure. "You won't be in it alone. I'm right here. There's no way I can be apart from this." Dom assured setting his hands on her hips suggestively._

"_You really want kids?" She asked, but Dom knew that's not what she meant. _

_Bringing his head to hers, he chuckled, "You're the only one I'd want to have them with. I want my daughter to have your eyes."_

_Smiling, Letty let out an exaggerated sigh. "Another woman in the house pining for your attention? I don't think so. I want a boy."_

_Laughing, Dom picked her up again, heading towards the stairs. "We boy know a boy is going to cause problems!" Letty wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing his neck. "Boy" she mumbled kissing his lips._

_Dom returned the kiss eagerly, before crooning, "Girl."_

_(End)_

* * *

"…Did that really happen?" Letty asked him. Dom didn't know how to answer that question without the pain of the memory coming back.

"Yeah. That happened, but you wasn't pregnant. The doctor said stress can do crazy things to the body, even have common symptoms of pregnancy." He explained to her. "The team had been working overtime at the garage, barely pulling money together."

"Oh." She said, a little defeated. Dom kissed her temple. "We were gonna go to Mexico and work on having a real one."

Letty smiled a bit, remembering him saying something about a dream in Mexico. "Do you still want kids?"

"You're the only one I'd want them with." He told her for the second time in their lives. "I want my daughter to have your eyes."

Laughing, Letty joked, "Good, because I want my son to have my eyes too."

She and Dom shared a sweet and slow kiss, before he whispered. "What else do you dream about?"

She looked into his eyes and told him seriously. "There's a boy in my mind. I can't get him out of my head. Whenever I work on the Plymouth, or see his face in the pictures, it pisses me off. Because I know I should know him, but he doesn't…."

"Julian." Dom told her finally. He hadn't wanted to open any floodgates with her. He'd wanted her memories to return without him bringing back painful ones first. But taking a little advice from O'Connor, he decided to give her a piece of her own puzzle.

Letty's mind worked over the name, her eyes furrowing in concentration. "It's his car isn't it?" she asked him.

Dom nodded. "Yeah…the military released it to you after you signed his death certificate."

"He's dead…" She repeated a bit sad, but not all too surprised. If he were alive, Dom would have told her by now. Cars are only kept for sentimental value if the owner was famous, dead, or both.

"Yeah." Dom confirmed. "That necklace I gave you in London, was his too. You'd given it to me the day you left…same day they gave you the car."

Immediately, Letty's mind raced as another memory shot out from the mist of her brain.

_Fiddling with it in her hands, she spoke, "It's the Saint Joseph cross-Patron Saint of families. It's been in mine for over 100 years. It's not worth much, but the diamonds are real."_

_Dom just listened, his eyes on the cross. He'd never known her to be religious, but that just went to show how much he knew, or rather didn't know about the woman in front of him._

"_My grandfather gave it to my father and my father gave it to my brother before he served in the war. And Julian left it to me when he deployed. It's said to keep the heart pure." she finished, not bothering to say more._

"FUCK." She cursed, completely upset. At Dom, for giving it back to her, for Shaw testing her, and more than ever, herself for telling him he could keep it.

"I'm so fucking stupid!" Letty hollered, hot tears flowing down her face. "I-I left it there! Over a gotdamn century of my family heritage, gone! And…I can't get it back!"

Dom pulled her to his chest, rubbing her back softly. "Hey. That necklace has been left, dropped, misplaced and gone through over a dozen car crashes. It'll resurface. I promise. We'll get it back."

"How do you know that? You gotta tracking device or somethin.'" she asked with a bit of an attitude.

He smirked, knowing that was the old Letty resurrecting itself. "Nah. Just gotta take it on faith." He reminded her.

She raised her head, her eyes unwavering. "You look a bit tired. Why don't we go upstairs, and you give me a massage."

Dom's eyes grew slightly wide with surprise, but he tried not over exciting himself. "But we have guests."

"Why don't we go upstairs and you give me a massage?" She demanded again, this time she copped a bit of an attitude.

He smiled, lifted them up in one move. "Just like old times." He muttered, leading her back into the house, through the crowd of people.

ENC

* * *

Tivia: Michelle Rodriguez really does play piano and she really does skate.

A/N:** Next chapter coming really soon. Thanks for everyone not cursing me out! I won't waste time with a long speech, but thank you. I'm sorry I didn't edit this chapter that well, FORGIVE ME! Read around the errors.**

-R


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